COLUMBIA --- The American Civil Liberties Union called Tuesday for the National Institute of Corrections to independently audit the South Carolina Corrections Department.

The request to Gov. Mark Sanford comes after the Legislative Audit Council canceled plans for a Corrections Department workers survey that agency director Jon Ozmint had criticized in an e-mail and newsletter.

The ACLU's letter requesting the federal review went to Mr. Sanford because the Corrections Department is one of his Cabinet agencies. Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor is considering the request, but no decision has been made.

Corrections Department spokesman Josh Gelinas said the ACLU's request isn't out of line with what the prison agency has wanted for months. When the council began working on the audit, Mr. Gelinas said the department encouraged it to get independent experts familiar with prison operations and specifically encouraged the council to work with the National Institute of Corrections, a Department of Justice agency that gives state prisons technical assistance.

Graham Boyd, the state ACLU interim executive director, said Tuesday that Mr. Ozmint should ask for a review by the institute. Technically, the request would have to come from the agency head, not the governor.

"I think what this episode points out is there's a political logjam at the moment. Each side is pointing fingers at the other," Mr. Boyd said. "Meanwhile, nobody's looking into the problems at the prison system."

In a June 17 e-mail, Mr. Ozmint told prison workers it "is easy and tempting to blame your immediate superiors, your senior leadership or this agency for low pay, low staffing, crowded prisons and insufficient equipment." But he said legislators control prison spending.

In the newsletter, Mr. Ozmint said the survey was an attempt to blame prison administrators for problems.

Legislative Audit Council Director George Schroeder dropped the council's planned survey, which was to be part of the prisons review, after Mr. Ozmint's criticism, citing federal standards that say audit organizations should be free of impairments to independence, including pressure from managers or employees.