The State - News from May 19, 1987

Daniel McCarthy, 63, director of the state’s beleaguered prison system, will retire at the end of the month after 38 years with the Department of Corrections. McCarthy was named director of the state’s 13 crammed prisons, parole operations and far-flung conservation camps after Gov. George Deukmejian’s first choice for the job, George Denton, resigned under pressure. Denton’s appointment in May, 1983, touched off a firestorm of controversy when it was widely reported that he allegedly made disparaging remarks about blacks while directing the Ohio prison system. Deukmejian said McCarthy “has done an outstanding job directing the nation’s largest prison system, at the same time managing the largest prison expansion program in state history.” The Administration has begun a search for a replacement for McCarthy, who will leave May 31.