FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 2, 2020) – Kentucky Department of Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews today announced that Larry Chandler has been named warden of Southeast State Correctional Complex (SSCC) in Wheelwright. Chandler is a well-known and respected criminal justice professional who served the Commonwealth for 31 years. He served as Trimble County Jailer and was warden of four state prisons as well as serving on the Kentucky Parole Board for four years, including one year as chair.
“Larry Chandler has been a mentor to many of us in Corrections throughout the years,” said Crews. “To have him come back and open Southeast State Correctional Complex is truly a blessing. His passion, knowledge and commitment are second to none.”
Chandler will oversee the new prison in Floyd County that will be operated as a state facility, employing approximately 240 employees. The state is leasing the property and buildings and plans to begin moving inmates there in September. The medium-security prison will house 665 inmates once fully occupied.
A native of Trimble County, Chandler retired from the Department of Corrections in September 2008 after a distinguished career with DOC. When he retired, he was warden of the Kentucky State Reformatory, the same institution he began his career at 26 years earlier as a correctional officer. Chandler helped open and served as warden at the Green River Correctional Complex, Luther Luckett Correctional Complex and Bell County Forestry Camp. In addition, he helped design Little Sandy Correctional Complex. In 2009, he was appointed to the parole board and served as chair from 2011-2013.
“Warden Chandler’s background in opening and managing correctional facilities illustrates the caliber of experience, leadership, and professionalism we were searching for that is necessary to activate SSCC,” said Deputy Commissioner Randy White.
Chandler attained the highest designation, Certified Corrections Executive (CCE), from the American Correctional Association (ACA) as well as Certified Health Care Administrator by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). He was the first in Kentucky to receive these honors. In 1999 and 2006, he was named “Warden of the Year” by the Kentucky Department of Corrections, and twice in his career he was a nominee for the national Warden of the Year award presented by the North America Association of Wardens and Superintendents (NAAWS). Chandler also spent 12 weeks in the United Arab Emirates training correctional officers at the Al Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi for the ACA.
He has served as an adjunct criminal justice professor at the University of Louisville and is a former member of the board of directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He is currently a member of the board of directors for the Oldham County Historical Society.