Still Undelivered: One Dictionary, Two Political Parties and No Accountability
Oregon’s Democratic administration passed responsibility down to prison housing officers while Republican representatives became unreachable.
By Killian Yates | September 1, 2026
As of September 1, 2026, the book still has not been delivered.
On Friday, August 28, Christina Towers of the Oregon Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General assured me that Javier Manuel Morales would receive the book that night or, at the very latest, the following day.
That deadline passed. Mr. Morales still does not have the book. Twenty-seven days have now passed since USPS delivered it to Snake River Correctional Institution.
The item is a Merriam-Webster Rhyming Dictionary. I purchased it through Amazon for my friend, Javier Manuel Morales, so that we could write music together through letters. Amazon and USPS tracking confirmed that it was delivered to Snake River Correctional Institution on August 5, 2026.
Snake River staff later confirmed that the mailroom received the book and transferred it to Mr. Morales’s housing unit on August 6. Oregon DOC’s own public guidance says processing a publication may take up to four days after arrival, excluding weekends and holidays.
The dictionary was not rejected. I was not told that it violated a publication rule. Instead, it disappeared into the institution’s internal chain of custody and remains undelivered nearly four weeks later.
The Timeline
- August 5: USPS delivered the Merriam-Webster Rhyming Dictionary to Snake River Correctional Institution.
- August 6: The mailroom transferred the book to Mr. Morales’s housing unit.
- Following days: Mr. Morales spoke with housing-unit staff and submitted kite requests asking where the book was. Those efforts did not produce the book.
- My inquiries: I called numerous options within Snake River’s telephone system during and after regular business hours. Calls went unanswered, menu options looped back and voicemails were not returned.
- Inspector General involvement: Christina Towers told me that Snake River staff had located the book and that its delay involved a security screening associated with Mr. Morales’s housing unit.
- Friday, August 28: Towers assured me that Mr. Morales would receive the dictionary that night or the following day at the latest.
- September 1: The promised delivery still has not occurred. Mr. Morales remains without the book 27 days after it entered the institution.
The Democratic Administration Passed the Buck
I began seeking government assistance by leaving a voicemail with Democratic Governor Tina Kotek’s constituent-services office. That concern was forwarded into the Oregon Department of Corrections and eventually reached Christina Smith in the Office of the Inspector General.
From there, responsibility traveled steadily downward. The Inspector General’s Office referred the matter to Snake River. Snake River’s administration said the mailroom had already transferred the book. The mailroom said the housing unit was responsible. I was then told that security personnel and housing-unit officers controlled the book and that Mr. Morales would need to pursue a grievance or tort claim.
This was not a resolution. It was a map showing how responsibility was passed down through the bureaucracy until it landed on unnamed housing-unit officers.
Mr. Morales’s grievance rights are separate from my inquiry. I purchased the book, tracked its delivery and contacted the state as both the purchaser and an advocate for the rights of incarcerated Oregonians. Telling the incarcerated recipient to file another form does not answer why the state failed to deliver the item.
Christina Towers said the situation was simple from her side of the investigation but complex at the correctional facility. She declined to provide details about the security circumstances. She said, however, that she would provide information to Senator Noah Robinson or Representative Kim Wallan if either contacted her.
The political affiliations of individual DOC employees are not the point. The issue is executive responsibility. Oregon DOC operates under the administration of Democratic Governor Tina Kotek. The Kotek administration cannot escape responsibility for a state institution by identifying the last housing-unit officer who possessed an item.
The continuing nondelivery makes that chain of responsibility even more troubling. The Inspector General’s Office told me that the book had been located and promised that it would be delivered no later than August 29. As of September 1, that assurance has not been fulfilled.
The Republican Offices Went Silent
I also contacted Republican Senator Noah Robinson and Republican Representative Kim Wallan. I asked them to use their authority as elected officials to contact the Inspector General’s Office, obtain the information being withheld from me and determine whether this continuing delay is reasonable.
Neither office has acknowledged my requests. Neither has provided a response. When I attempted to follow up, both offices had full voicemail boxes that would not accept additional messages.
I did not ask them to file a lawsuit, hold a press conference or accept my conclusions without investigation. I asked them to make an inquiry on behalf of a constituent after the Inspector General specifically said information could be provided to elected officials.
The Democratic administration responded by passing responsibility downward. The Republican offices were not reachable enough to pass anything at all.
As a registered Republican, I find that unacceptable. Republicans cannot claim to defend individual rights, limited government, transparency and accountability while becoming unreachable when a constituent asks them to examine the conduct of a Democratic-controlled state agency.
On September 1, I called and left a voicemail with the Jackson County Republican Party. I am asking party leadership to address why Republican constituents cannot obtain even an acknowledgment from the elected officials who represent them.
Documents and Supporting Records
I am publishing the supporting documents so members of the public can review the written record directly.
The first document contains my email correspondence with Julina “Julie” Claus of Snake River Correctional Institution. The second contains the public-records request I submitted to the Oregon Department of Corrections concerning the book’s receipt, transfer, security screening, location, promised release and final disposition.
Email Correspondence With Julina “Julie” Claus
Oregon Department of Corrections Public-Records Request
I do not yet know whether the records will reveal misconduct, inadequate staffing, a gap in policy, a failure to follow existing procedures or a security event involving the housing unit. That uncertainty is exactly why records and legislative oversight are necessary.
The public deserves answers. Why has a dictionary remained inside a prison for 27 days? Who controlled it during that period? Why were Mr. Morales’s kite requests ineffective? Why was an assurance from the Inspector General’s Office that the book would be delivered no later than August 29 not fulfilled? What will prevent the same thing from happening to another book, letter, religious text or legal communication?
Accountability cannot mean Democrats passing responsibility down the chain while Republicans stop answering their phones. Oregon residents deserve responsive government from both parties, including when the person directly affected is incarcerated.
I will publish the response to my public-records request and any explanation received from Governor Kotek, Senator Robinson, Representative Wallan, the Jackson County Republican Party or the Oregon Department of Corrections.
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