Montana’s prisons are over capacity due to an 11 percent increase in the prison population between FY2008-2015. Mike Batista was the administrator for the Division of Criminal Investigation for the Montana Department of Justice for 20 years before being appointed as director for the Department of Corrections in 2012. Now Mike Batista is currently named to the Board of Pardons and Parole. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Let’s look at Batista’s legacy.
During Mike's tenure with the Division of Criminal Investigations, he employed a computer forensic scientist named Jimmy Weg. Attached is an email obtained from Jimmy Weg. seq-2 (1) click on link This email is disturbing in so many ways. The email itself testifies to the fact that the "science" of computer forensics is junk science. Jimmy was asked to help defend a search warrant. Jimmy clearly says the defense is correct in their assessment of the search warrant. Jimmy says "TRUE" to defense claims. "WE'VE ALL HEARD OF CASES IN WHICH A SIGNAL WAS IN FACT STOLEN LEADING TO A SEARCH OF THE WRONG COMPUTER." "..[nothing] IS FAIL SAFE." Under the leadership of Mike Batista, Jimmy Weg continued to knowingly provide false and incomplete "evidence" to ignorant judges who in turn rubber stamped any search warrant request. Immediately the innocent victim of the "scientific evidence" is turned into a criminal. Mike Batista employed an investigator, Arlyn Greydanus. Arlyn's son was a person of interest in a crime and was interviewed by law enforcement. Mike Batista then authorized Arlyn to transport the evidence from Helena to the Missoula Crime Lab. WOW!! Talk about evidence handling. Obviously the son was cleared of any wrong doing. During Mike's tenure as Director of Montana Department of Corrections, Mike signed a contract with Crossroads Correctional Facility authorizing Crossroads to add extra bunks in cells overcrowding the prison cells. After authorizing Crossroads Correctional Facility to overcrowd the prison, Mike then asks the State of Montana for millions of dollars to alleviate the overcrowding he authorized. Mike Batista worked with Ron Alsbury, Chief of Probation and Parole, to exponentially revoke and rescind the probation and parole of hundreds of men and women, particularly of American Indian descent. After this unprecedented number of revocations, Mike Batista asks Montana citizens for millions of dollars to correct the challenges he created. Mike Batista knowingly allowed search warrant applications based on "evidence" that was questionable at best and according to his own forensic examiner, known to be false. Judges were not informed in these applications that probable cause was not, in fact, probable cause at all. Batista allowed his own investigator a clear and probable opportunity to alter evidence in favor of the investigator's son. Mike Batista signed a contract to authorize the overcrowding of prisons. He worked with Ron Alsbury to revoke and rescind the probation and parole of hundreds of people. Mike Batista then pretends to be the savior of overcrowded prisons. Now Batista is serving on the Board of Pardons and Parole deciding the fate of the people he incarcerated. Many of these people are victims of the "probable cause" search warrants submitted by his investigators under his supervision. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.