Editor’s note: The majority of the following information was taken from Florida Department of Corrections and Corrections Foundation press releases.
“Not bad for a country boy from Lawtey.”
By all accounts, those oft-uttered words by Louie Lee Wainwright Sr. were as close as he’d come to talking about his accomplishments within the Florida Department of Corrections. He was humble, but his legacy will live on.
Wainwright, who passed away Dec. 23 at the age of 98, was known as the “dean of American correctional administrators.” No other corrections secretarydirector throughout the U.S. has served a longer term than Wainwright, who was appointed as chief administrator of Florida’s entire corrections system by Gov. Farris Bryant in 1962. He remained in the roles of director and then secretary until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1986.
“The loss of Secretary Wainwright is not only a loss for those in the corrections field, but also to the state of Florida,” current Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon said. “Secretary Wainwright was a visionary and stood for his convictions, refusing to back down when faced with adversity. His dedication and courage led to incredible change in the treatment of the incarcerated. He led the charge to create excellence in corrections and transparency of the entire system.”
Wainwright had a passion for human rights, whether he was helping those who were incarcerated or the staff who worked at Florida’s correctional institutions. It was said he made all of his decisions based on that passion, regardless of political consequences.
He wasn’t a fancy dresser or a fancy speaker. He didn’t drive a fancy car. He didn’t strive for more than what he had, instead putting forth efforts to ensure that those around him excelled.
Making his mark
Wainwright graduated from Bradford High School in 1942 and served as an aviation radioman in the Navy during World War II. Soon after his discharge, he joined the Gainesville Police Department, working there for five years before joining what was then known as the Division of Corrections. He worked as a clerk in the inmate identification unit at Florida State Prison. In a short time, he was promoted to chief security correctional officer.
Wainwright was appointed as assistant superintendent at Avon Park Correctional Institution in April 1957. In two months’ time, he was promoted to superintendent.
H.G. Cochran Jr., who was the director of Florida’s Division of Corrections, resigned to pursue a new career with Florida Care Inc. Gov. Bryant tabbed Wainwright to take Cochran’s place, with the appointment becoming effective July 16, 1962. Wainwright was 38 at the time.
Wainwright is most famous for being named the respondent in two U.S. Supreme Court cases.
The first was Gideon vs. Wainwright, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth and 14th amendments guarantee a right of legal counsel to anyone accused of a crime. “Time” magazine called the Gideon decision one of the 10 most important legal events of the 1960s.
Wainwright is also remembered for the Ford vs. Wainwright decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court approved the common law rule prohibiting the execution of the insane.
During his time as Florida Department of Corrections secretary, which had him working under governors Bryant, Haydon Burns, Claude Kirk Jr., Reuben Askew, Bob Graham and Wayne Mixson, Wainwright a driving force in the early to mid-1970s for the American Corrections Association’s national campaign to establish the Corrections Accreditation Commission. In 1981, Florida’s corrections institutions (24 at that time) were the first in the nation to achieve accreditation. The Florida Department of Corrections Central Office earned its accreditation in 1984, making Florida the first correctional agency in the nation to be fully accredited.
In recognition of his accreditation efforts, Wainwright was presented with the Accreditation Achievement Award from the Commission on Accreditation of Corrections in 1986.
Other notable achievements during his career included:
—Becoming the 78th president of the American Correctional Association in 1971.
—Receiving the American Correctional Association’s highest tribute, the E.R. Cass Award for Outstanding Service, in 1976.
—Receiving the Florida Sheriff’s Association Distinguished Service Award in 1976 for “contributing to the advancement of better law enforcement.”
Wainwright, who earned a Criminal Justice degree from Nova Southeastern University (where he later served as a visiting faculty member), said he wouldn’t have traded his career for another, often referring to it as his calling. He believed no other position would’ve allowed him the opportunity to solve problems and help people daily. His quiet confidence and behind-the-scenes leadership style spurred the shift in corrections philosophy away from centuries of barbarian treatment of those incarcerated. Wainwright established education and job training for inmates and pushed for transparence of the entire corrections system.
Continuing to serve those in corrections
Following retirement, Wainwright created Wainwright Judicial Services in Tallahassee and began consulting corrections on a global front. He traveled to China and Russia as part of the Citizens Ambassador Program of People to People International. As a member of the Criminal Justice Delegation, a nonprofit group established by President Eisenhower to bridge the world, he was instrumental in facilitating international understanding.
The highlight of his prestigious career was his international corrections work, where he taught lessons learned and pioneered from Florida’s correctional system to European corrections professionals in Austria, Poland, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
Wainwright was appointed as president of the nonprofit Corrections Foundation in 2001 — a position he would also fill in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Corrections Foundation was created in 1996 to support the programs, personnel and services of the Department of Corrections through grants, contributions and community partnerships. Wainwright helped lead the effort in increasing the foundation’s membership from 5,000 to 15,000 and providing more than $9.2 million to more 10,000-plus Florida Department of Corrections employees and contractors.
On June 8, 2013, Wainwright and his wife, Anabel, were honored by the Corrections Foundation for their dedicated service, while on April 26, 2016, he was honored at the annual Starke American Values Dinner, hosted by Boy Scouts of America’s North Florida Council.
The Corrections Foundation awards the Louie L. Wainwright Scholarship annually to individuals employed or contracted by the Florida Department of Corrections. Recipients must be seeking a certification or degree in Criminal Justice or a corrections-related field.
As Wainwright may have said, “Not bad for a country boy from Lawtey.
A memorial service in Tallahassee and a graveside service at Kingsley Lake Cemetery will be held at a later date.
