Court-Appointed Inspectors ID Several Areas of Improvement at DC Jail

By D.C. Witness Staff - April 16, 2020
Court | Featured | Homicides |

Two court-appointed inspectors have told a federal judge of significant issues that they found during inspections of two jail facilities at the DC Department of Corrections (DC DOC).  Most of those issues, however, appeared to be more of mismanagement than intentional actions.

The details were delivered during an April 15, teleconference. The hearing was part of a lawsuit that has been brought against the DC DOC by four inmates, charging inadequate health and safety precautions at the DC Jail in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hearing was presided over by DC District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly who is hearing the suit. 

During the call, inspectors Grace M Lopes and Mark Jordan, told Judge Kollar-Kotelly that when they visited the DC DOC’s Central Detention Facility (CDF) and Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) they found  inadequate numbers of personnel and supervisors to make sure Center for Disease Control (CDC) policies, such as social distancing, were being enforced. 

Among the specific finding, Lopes said that even though there was enough space to sufficiently comply with social distancing, it was not being enforced. That issue was compounded by the facilities’ design, which prevented the limited number of staff members from sufficiently supervising the inmates. 

The inspectors noted specifically that despite the DC DOC guidance for no more than five inmates out of their cells at a time, between 10-15 inmates, in multiple units, were observed out together.  

The lack of supervision also impacted cleaning in the facilities. According to Lopes, even though there were regular deliveries of cleaning and sanitizing products, jail staff and inmates did not have sufficient cleaning equipment, training or supervision to clean appropriately. 

The inspectors mentioned how inmates in several housing units were supposed to clean every two hours, but that they did not have the rags they needed and were ripping apart their own T-shirts to use. 

Even where there were cleaning supplies, the inspectors found staff were untrained on how to use the cleaning chemicals correctly. The DC DOC is supplied with four cleaning chemicals that are used differently. But, in one case, a staff member told an inspector that rough estimates were made when mixing chemicals. 

The inspectors found that taken together, these issues made cleanliness an issue throughout the DC DOC facilities,  especially in common areas. They also noted that cleanliness varied from unit to unit with trash on the floor in some areas and a common bathroom having mildew and  broken sinks and toilets. 

Cleanliness was particularly and issue in  the facilities’ isolation units. Here, no cleaning seemed to have happened, and inspectors called the conditions in the isolation unit “too punitive.” Among the issues, isolation inmates did not get a change of clothing nor were they allowed to shower. 

The two inspectors will get more data on staffing issues on April 16. 

Housing 

Beyond cleanliness, inspectors found issues with how DC DOC housed inmates.

More than half of the inmates at the CDF shared a cell with another inmate when there are enough vacant cells to make that unnecessary. Only five percent of the inmates at the CTF shared a cell. The reason for why inmates received specific housing assignments was not known at the time of the call. 

Inmates do not share cells in isolation. 

The inspectors will provide a full report on April 17. Judge Kollar-Kotelly asked the inspectors to also  provide recommendations to the DC DOC for medical attention for inmates. 

Legal Calls

A second part of the hearing addressed defendants’ access to private calls with legal counsel. 

Judge Kollar-Kotelly said the current system for inmates and their counsel to communicate is unacceptable because there is no access to privacy and they are having trouble arranging calls with the DC DOC’s current rules. 

On March 27, according to the DC DOC website on its response to the coronavirus, the DC DOC said that all inmates needed to be authorized for legal visits or phone calls. The calls could be no more than 30 minutes.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly tasked the defendants with updating the system by April 20, with new procedures for lawyers and defendants to be able to communicate. 

US Attorney

Several other issues were addressed on the call, including detention for parole violators, whether inmates who test positive for the coronavirus should be released, downsizing the jail population and whether the US Attorney’s Office will join the lawsuit which is currently only involving DC authorities. 

Steven Marcus, counsel for the plaintiffs, argued that the US Attorney’s Office should not be included in the case. He argued the issues are “squarely” a DC responsibility, even if some prisoners are being held for federal infractions. 

However, counsel for DC DOC said they believe that since all felonies in the city are ultimately under federal control, the US Attorney’s Office should be allowed to join the lawsuit. 

The judge ordered that the plaintiffs and the defendants file their positions by April 20 and April 21, respectively. The US Attorney’s Office is expected to file its brief on joining by April 17. 

LaTrina Antoine wrote this story