The Florida Department of Corrections has appointed Tom Reid, current warden of Charlotte Correctional Institution (CCI), as Suwannee Correctional Institution’s (SCI) new warden. SCI’s former warden, Chris Landrum, resigned from the position on June 30 to become the director of transportation with the Suwannee County School District.

Reid will leave his wardenship in Punta Gorda, Fla., in the coming weeks to take up the reins at SCI; taking his place at CCI is John Willis.

“These individuals have our utmost trust and have proven themselves as successful leaders in their current positions,” stated DOC Assistant Secretary of Institutions Ricky D. Dixon. “They represent the integrity, commitment and sense of duty that the Department of Corrections and the people of Florida deserve.”

At SCI, Reid will be stepping into a prison currently under investigation by state and federal agencies for suspicious inmate beatings and deaths; this scrutinized environment is not unfamiliar to Reid. While he was not personally involved in these incidents, during Reid’s wardenship at CCI a mentally ill inmate’s eye was gouged out by an officer and another inmate was brutally beaten to death by a group of officers, according to news reports.

Reid has worked in the DOC for 23 years, starting out as a correctional officer at CCI and moving up the ranks to become CCI’s assistant warden of operations in 2006. In 2008, Reid was named acting warden at Indian River Correctional Institution; six months later he was appointed warden at Martin Correctional Institution. He was finally transferred back to CCI as warden in 2012. Reid has been awarded the DOC Secretary’s Leadership Award for helping establish programs to rehabilitate and reintegrate inmates into society after release.