Hundreds of DC inmates to be moved over 'deeply concerning' conditions

Hundreds of detainees will be moved out of a Washington, DC, jail after an inspection found they were being held in unacceptable conditions, according to the US Marshal’s Service.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Marshals Service, which is part of the Justice Department, said it would transfer approximately 400 detainees to a federal penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Marshals said officers conducted an inspection of both DC Department of Corrections facilities - a treatment facility and the Central Detention Facility - during the week of October 18.

The unannounced inspection revealed that the facilities of the Central Detention Facility did not meet the minimum standards required by federal regulations.

It found standing sewage and shut-off water, as well as evidence corrections officers were withholding food as punishment.

The inspection was prompted by “recent and historical concerns raised regarding conditions at the DC DOC facilities, including those recently raised by various members of the judiciary.”

Last month, US District Judge Royce Lamberth held top officials from the DC DOC in contempt over the jail’s failure to provide the Marshals with medical notes for Christopher Worrell, a Florida Proud Boy charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.

In his ruling, Lamberth referred the matter to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers on Oct. 21 that both the US Marshals and civil rights attorneys were conducting a review of the DC jail's facilities.

"The allegations in the summary letter from the Acting US Marshal are deeply concerning," Christopher Geldart, deputy mayor for public safety and justice, said in a statement.

About 120 detainees, including all of those being held pending trial for alleged offenses related to the Capitol riot, are being held at the treatment facility.

The inspection there did "not identify conditions that would necessitate the transfer of inmates," the Marshals Service said.

Meanwhile, the city's public defender service issued a statement about the Marshals' report, condemning "the inhumane conditions" of the DC Jail. 

"For years, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, along with other legal and grass-roots organizations, has called out and challenged the DC Department of Corrections for its horrific treatment of nearly exclusively Black and Brown people detained at the DC Jail. The inhumane conditions have included long-term solitary confinement for people with no disciplinary issues, lack of running water, full illumination of cells for 24-hours per day resulting in sleep deprivation, cells soiled with feces and blood, lack of air conditioning during the summer and heat during the winter, lack of proper medical care, failure to provide mental health treatment, and physical and mental abuse by correctional officers of people in their custody."

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