The District of Columbia Jail or the D.C. Central Detention Facility (commonly referred to as the D.C. Jail) is a jail run by the
District of Columbia Department of Corrections The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions for the District of Columbia, in the United States.http://doc.dc.gov/doc/cwp/view,a,3,q,491 ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The
Stadium–Armory station
Stadium–Armory is a Washington Metro station located in Southeast, Washington, D.C. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Stadium–Armory serves the Blue, Orang ...
serves the D.C. Jail. The majority of male inmates housed in the Central Detention Facility are awaiting adjudication of cases or are sentenced for misdemeanor offenses.
[ Female inmates in the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections are housed at the adjacent Correctional Treatment Facility. After the , sentenced felons are transferred to the ]Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
.[
]
History
The current building was constructed in 1976. It replaced a jail built in 1872. In turn, this building replaced a federal penitentiary that had been torn down at the US Army Arsenal a few years earlier.[http://www.adolf-cluss.org/index.php?lang=en&topSub=washington&content=w&sub=3.5.91] Six German spies, tried in a military court, were electrocuted here in 1942, during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Programs
As of 2004, a group called the "Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop," came into the jail twice a week, which allowed inmates to read and write. This program allowed one inmate to change his life. The jail offers "HIV/ AIDS Prevention, Education and Intervention Services; Individual and Group Counseling Services; Hispanic Life Skills; Book Club; Street Law; Literacy Education; Religious Services; Mental Health Adjustment; and Anger Management, among other life skills development and religious services."[
]
Conditions
In August 1995, the Jail's medical care facility was placed under court-ordered receivership, after the District was held in contempt for repeatedly failing to implement court orders...intended to ensure adequate medical services to jail inmates". The receivership ended in September 2000.
In 2010, a long-time inmate of the D.C. Jail claimed that nine years in the D.C. Jail was equivalent to 20 years in another prison. The inmate told of moldy jail cell
A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishm ...
s, questionable strip search
A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...
es, broken locks on cell doors, staph infections, rodents and violent assaults. US District Judge Thomas Hogan called the conditions at the jail "a shame."
In 2013, a report noted that 165 people had attempted suicide over roughly a two-year period and four had actually committed suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
during that same time. There were three suicides over the period of two months. An HIV-positive deaf man sued the D.C. Jail, claiming he was denied medical care and was retaliated against for complaining about jail conditions.
In 2014, there was debate over health care provider services at the jail.
In 2015, a report from the Washington Lawyers' Committee called the conditions at the jail "alarming," noting that structures were deteriorating and that drug addicts detained there need additional resources. The report recommended that the facility be replaced.[ The report criticized anti-suicide initiatives by the department.] Mayor Muriel Bowser
Muriel Elizabeth Bowser (born August 2, 1972) is an American politician serving since 2015 as the eighth mayor of the District of Columbia. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 4th ward as a member of the Council ...
announced that the jail would reintroduce face-to-face visits between inmates and their relatives. Face-to-face visits were eliminated in 2012 when the jail made video conferencing the policy. ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' reported that the jail houses people with serious mental illness for minor offenses.
Notable incidents
In 2001, several middle school students underwent a strip search during a tour of the jail. Warden Patricia Britton was subsequently fired for allegedly allowing the searches.
In 2004, Jonathan Magbie
Jonathan Magbie (1977 – September 24, 2004) was a quadriplegic who died in jail while serving a ten-day sentence for marijuana possession.
Background
Magbie was paralyzed from the neck down after being struck by a drunk driver at the age of ...
died at the D.C. Jail. Magbie was paralyzed from the neck down after being struck by a drunk driver at the age of four. He was charged with marijuana possession after police found a marijuana cigarette and a loaded gun in the vehicle in which he was stopped. Although he had never been convicted of a criminal offense and although he required private nursing care for as much as 20 hours a day, Magbie was given a ten-day sentence in the D.C. jail in September 2004 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin. Lacking a ventilator, he died in city custody four days later. This provoked a series of op-ed pieces in ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' by columnist Colbert I. King
Colbert Isaiah King (born September 20, 1939) is an American columnist for ''The Washington Post'' and the deputy editor of the ''Posts editorial page. In 2003, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
Early life
King was born to Amelia ...
.[Colbert I. King]
"For Jonathan Magbie, a Catalogue of Injustice"
''The Washington Post'', December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009. Magbie's mother, with the help of the ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
, filed a lawsuit accusing the District government and Greater Southeast Community Hospital
United Medical Center, formerly Greater Southeast Community Hospital, is the only public hospital in Washington D.C. The 330-bed facility is located in Southeast Washington, D.C.
In 2016, the government of the District of Columbia awarded a no-bi ...
of failing to give him proper care. The lawsuit was settled out of court.
In 2010, it was reported that there were six stabbings over the course of several months.
In 2012, a man with a history of mental illness hanged himself at the jail.
In 2013, the District of Columbia agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle allegations that the city had a practice of holding inmates at the D.C. Jail past their release date and of wrongfully strip searching inmates who were supposed to be released. In a related case in federal court, a jury found that inmates were unconstitutionally overdetained at the D.C. Jail between 2007 and 2008, but that the government wasn't liable because they didn't find evidence of "deliberate indifference" to the inmates' rights. A corrections officer at the D.C. Jail was arrested for having marijuana in his locker at the jail after a police dog detected the presence of the drug.
In 2014, a retired officer at the D.C. Jail sued the department of corrections for the right to carry guns after he reported receiving threats from inmates that he supervised. A former D.C. Jail inmate sued the city for being ordered to clean up a cell after a suicide.
In 2015, the wife of a man who committed a suicide at the jail filed a lawsuit against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Department of Corrections for wrongful death.
Notable inmates
*Joel Castón
Joel Castón is a member of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Washington, D.C. and is the first incarcerated person to win an election in the city.
Early life and incarceration
Castón was raised in Ward 8 of Washington, D.C. His parent ...
, first incarcerated person in D.C. to win an election in the city
References
{{reflist, 30em
Jails in the United States
Government buildings completed in 1976
Government buildings in Washington, D.C.
Government of the District of Columbia
Government buildings completed in 1872