News Archive
2026
May
05/15/2026 | PRESS RELEASE: APPREHENDED - Minimum Security Incarcerated Individual Escaped from Monroe Correctional Complex
MONROE – Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and local law enforcement apprehended minimum security incarcerated individual Samuel Evans Kimble (DOC# 439536), who escaped from the Minimum Security Unit at Monroe Correctional Complex at 10:53 PM.
25-year-old Kimble was apprehended at…
05/12/2026 | Washington Becomes First State to Implement 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in State Prisons
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), in partnership with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), has made the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline available to incarcerated individuals who can now dial “988” from phones and tablets at all state prison facilities.
05/08/2026 | Text Message Alert
Text Message Alert ⚠️ We have received reports of text messages informing recipients that incarcerated individuals need help paying for internet. The text messages contain identifying information, including names, and direct recipients to access a link to help pay for internet…
April
Throughout April, we have shared stories of second chances made successful by restoring, rebuilding, and reconnecting those in our care and custody with the skills, opportunities, and rehabilitation necessary to return home and become good neighbors.
While Second Chance Month is coming to a close…
Portrait of Candice Baughman. Photo courtesy of Candice Baughman
Stories like Candice Baughman’s highlight the powerful impact of lived experience, service, and second chances. Baughman is the founder and CEO of Ed 4 Empowerment, a company that supports reentry…
Each April, we celebrate Second Chance Month and the work we do to provide those in our care and custody with a better chance at life after incarceration...
March
03/25/2026 | DOC Graduates Engage with Women in Trades 2026
Twenty incarcerated individuals from the Washington Corrections Center for Women took an important step toward their futures last month, virtually attending the Women in Trades Event 2026 hosted by the City of Tacoma.
At Stafford Creek Correctional Center, the usual sounds of heavy steel doors and routine were put on hold for a night of laughter. As part of a targeted violence prevention initiative, the facility welcomed comedians Greg Beachler (Federal Way, WA) and Adam Tiller (Seattle, WA) for a performance that was as much about behavioral psychology as it was about punchlines.
February
GIG HARBOR — Thirty women at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW), walked down an aisle set up in the prison gym to the familiar notes of Pomp and Circumstance, dressed in bright blue graduation robes and tasseled mortarboards.
For a moment, they weren’t people who were…
Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) —The Black Prisoners’ Caucus (BPC) Summit was a powerful mission of self-improvement, collective uplift, and the pursuit of education within the walls.
January
ABERDEEN—On an overcast afternoon at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, the newest arrivals weren’t wearing the standard prison uniform of khaki shirts and pants.
TACOMA—The conference room at the state Department of Social and Health Services, DSHS, office in Tacoma is crowded and loud. Fourteen tables line the walls labeled with signs like probation, medical center, social services and grocery store.