WHEREAS, the Honorable James T.
Vaughn of Clayton served as Delaware Commissioner of Correction from September,
1976, to October, 1979, serving under Governors Sherman W. Tribbitt and Pierre
S. du Pont, IV; and
WHEREAS,
during his subsequent career as a Delaware State Senator, spanning some 27
years from 1980 until 2007, Senator Vaughn was a member and longtime chairman
of the Senate Corrections Committee (later renamed the “Adult and Juvenile
Corrections Committee”); and
WHEREAS,
Senator Vaughn passed away on the 10th Day of October, 2007, at the age of 82
years; and
WHEREAS,
he was born at the old Vaughn farm east of Cheswold in Kent County on April 12,
1925, the third of the six children of the late Charles Townsend Vaughn and his
wife, the former Ada Van Pelt; grew up on the family farm and was educated in
the public schools of nearby Smyrna, where he graduated as a member of the
Class of 1943; and, just after his graduation, enlisted in the U.S. Marine
Corps, serving in the South Pacific and in China during and after World War II;
and
WHEREAS,
on his return to civilian life in 1946, he joined the Delaware State Police,
serving that organization honorably and well until his retirement with the rank
of Staff Captain in 1966 from the position of Director of the State Police
Criminal Division; and
WHEREAS,
after leaving the position of Commissioner of Correction in 1979, and before
his election to the Delaware State Senate in November, 1980, he served briefly
as Chief of Police of the Town of Smyrna; and
WHEREAS,
throughout his tenure as a member of the Delaware State Senate, particularly
during his years as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, Senator Vaughn
spent countless hours studying the operation and funding of Delaware’s prisons
and correctional facilities, working tirelessly to bring about improvements and
to resolve problems as they arose; and
WHEREAS,
as Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee, he developed a well-deserved
reputation for thoroughness, accuracy and a fearless willingness to confront
every problem and difficult issue, no matter how challenging or unpleasant, and
to see it through to a suitable resolution; and
WHEREAS,
because of his life-long residence in the Smyrna–Clayton area, Senator Vaughn
was especially interested in, and concerned with, the operation of the Delaware
Correctional Center near Smyrna; and
WHEREAS,
during Senator Vaughn’s time in the Delaware State Senate, no one in the
General Assembly knew more about the operation of Delaware’s correctional
system, or spent more time working to ensure that it functioned well and
properly;
NOW,
THEREFORE:
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section
1. The Delaware
Correctional Center is hereby renamed the “James T. Vaughn Correctional
Center”.
Section
2. All references to the “Delaware Correctional
Center”, where they appear in the
Delaware Code, shall be changed to the “James T. Vaughn Correctional
Center”.
