I'm not surprised by Stan Taylor's essay on this page. Shoot the messenger is a common refrain among politicians and public servants on the sharp end of a painful story.

There's very little wrong in Delaware prisons, says the Department of Correction commissioner. Trust us.

Sorry, Mr. Taylor. This fish smells.

Consider Anthony Pierce, the 21-year-old "brother with two heads" who died of a horrific cancerous growth that ate through his brain; and Ed Brittingham, whose shoulder was savaged by flesh-eating bacteria while prison doctors prescribed Motrin for pain, telling him he must have a broken arm. Add these to all the other health care issues chronicled in the four-day series and virtually any rational person would say something is amiss.

Delawareans are practical people. They recognize that guarding and caring for prisoners is a tough job. As you say in your essay, Mr. Taylor, inmates often come to you in bad health, they engage in risky sex, and they do drugs.

But are you asking state citizens to believe we're giving the best we've got? And are you suggesting that former employees of the prison system's medical providers -- among them an infectious disease doctor, a substance abuse counselor and a nurse -- can't be trusted to tell the truth about what's happening behind bars in Delaware? Are Delawareans statewide supposed to discount these accounts just because you say it ain't so?

Beyond the prison walls over which you preside, professionals in courtrooms, clergy and lay people in churches and people in neighborhoods are saying it's about time a light was shined on these issues. A Newark doctor heralded last year as a community hero for his pioneering work on AIDS says the lack of screening for disease in prisons is creating a public health crisis in the state. Dr. David M. Cohen said "it's a disgrace" that the DOC, the General Assembly and the governor haven't done more to address the issue.

Is that wrong?

You end your essay explaining that you intend to request funding in fiscal year 2007 to include suggestions prison experts we quoted in the series said Delaware should institute immediately.

Bravo!

But your complaints are weak.

You complain that the Bureau of Justice's statistics in the story -- statistics your agency is required to report to federal officials -- are inaccurate. How so? They're your numbers. And in your rebuttal, it appears to us that you've underestimated the death total in three of the five years mentioned.

You say you were not given a chance to comment on 13 of the 16 inmates profiled in the four days of coverage, which, by your count, resulted in more than 50 inaccuracies or misrepresentations. This statement seems disingenuous given that you admonished reporters Lee Williams and Esteban Parra -- who had two formal interviews with you, tape recorder rolling -- for inquiring about specific cases.

Here's what you said at the second interview: "I can't weigh in on the specifics of individual cases. Again, they may be involved either in the grievance process or ultimately in litigation so I can't get involved in specific cases. I thought we had clarified that in our first conversation."

Reviewing the tape, it's clear that you had no intention of answering questions about the cases you're now complaining you didn't have an opportunity to address. You shut it down, Mr. Taylor.

Admittedly, the most confusing case in our work was the story of Jermaine Lamar Wilson. (Incidentally, his name was misspelled in your essay.)

He's the 20-year-old who, according to court records, should have been released on Feb. 10 of this year -- eight days before he hanged himself.

Your essay does not mention that there is a court record of Jermaine Lamar Wilson's violation of parole being withdrawn on Feb. 10, and in that same document he was supposed to be released from prison.

One of your employees spoke to the judge at the hearing and said the violation was "petty." Superior Court Judge Richard R. Cooch agreed, and ordered Jermaine Lamar's release. He never got out, though.

Is that because the prison, the overall judicial system, mixed up Jermaine Lamar Wilson with a Jermaine Lamont Wilson? (Your essay says the other inmate is Jermaine M. Wilson.)

Why did Jermaine Lamar's mother, after reading happy letters from her son, come to pick him up at Gander Hill shortly after the release order was signed, only to find he was in maximum security at Smyrna? And why, after Jermaine Lamar had killed himself, was his public defender notified that he had been picked up on drug charges? Imagine this lawyer's shock when he called Jermaine Lamar's mother to inquire about the drug charges only to learn that his former client was dead.

As late as Tuesday morning, a source in a position to know said the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System, the statewide data bank for tracking criminals and crime stats, listed Jermaine Lamar as being housed at Gander Hill -- seven months after his death.

Do you see now, Mr. Taylor, how we came to the conclusion that the system somehow mixed up the two men?

You charge in your essay that our suggestion of a mix-up was the result of "sloppy reporting" with very little research. Sounds like we know more about this than you do.

Another item to ponder: Our Freedom of Information request for intake logs of inmate movement during the month of February, which might have provided further clarity on the matter, was denied by the Attorney General's Office, which represents DOC.

We're committed to telling this story fully. And we will continue to ask questions about it. I say we work together to clear up any ambiguity for all of Delaware to see.