OLYMPIA, Wash -- Washington Department of Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke submitted his resignation to Gov. Jay Inslee on Saturday morning, as an investigation continues into a computer glitch that allowed thousands of prisoners to be released early over the last 13 years.
Secretary Pacholke was appointed in October 2015.
The glitch was discovered in 2012, but a fix for it was delayed 16 times. The DOC said the problem is now repaired.
Some of the inmates released committed violent crimes while they should have still been incarcerated.
The Governor's Office was alerted to the problem on Dec. 22, 2015.
Gov. Inslee hired two former federal prosecutors to look into the scandal, but he has sparred with Republican legislators who argue the investigation cannot be independent since the DOC is overseen by Inslee’s office.
In January, a GOP-led committee successfully subpoenaed all documents related to the erroneous release, including correspondence from the Governor directly.
Republican leaders said they intend to determine if the governor knew about the problem before Dec. 22.
Secretary Pacholke's resignation comes one day after Senate Republicans successfully ousted Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson, appointed by Inslee in 2013.
In a statement Saturday morning, Gov. Inslee hinted at a connection, saying Pacholke hoped his resignation would end the "political blood thirst" of Senate Republicans.
"I doubt it will accomplish that, and I'm sorry to see a dedicated public servant end his tenure this way," said Inslee.
Secretary Pacholke, who has called the early prisoner release an "unforgivable error," echoed that sentiment in his resignation letter, calling the incident a tragic system failure.
But he cautioned against politically-motivated finger-pointing.
"What legislators who point to error as an indictment of leadership fail to recognize is the magnitude of things that could go wrong in any agency on any day," said Pacholke.
"The relevant test of leadership is how it mobilizes in response to error. "
Read Secretary Pacholke's complete resignation letter below: