The capital region’s jails have been marred by trouble for years.
Both the Justice Department and the Prince George’s County state’s attorney continue to investigate the case of prisoner Ronnie White, found dead in his cell after being charged with killing a Prince George’s County cop. The county medical examiner has determined that White was strangled and his death was a homicide.
In the last month, at least two Prince George’s Correctional officers have been put on leave — one a supervisor who was suspended amid allegations that she had a sexual relationship with one of her wards, another a guard accused of forging a boss’ signature so he could attend a federal training seminar.
In Prince William County, the jail has become so overcrowded that the county is spending millions to ship its suspects to other counties.
A book could be written on D.C. scandals. The jail was rocked by revelations that officers helped two dangerous inmates escape from custody — wearing guard uniforms — in 2006. Within the year, two inmates were able to kill themselves — one of them a mentally ill woman who was supposed to be under constant observation.
In 2005, the District settled a class-action suit over the treatment of prisoners for $12 million. Two years later, a new suit was filed.
Why are jails so hard to run?
“We have a population that doesn’t want to be here. We also house people with huge problems,” said Arthur Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
Wallenstein’s agency has been one of the few bright spots in area jails. Earlier this week, the Manhattan Institute singled out Montgomery County for its job training programs.
But Wallenstein said his agency was struggling just like any other local jail.
“We’re buried under prisoners like everyone else,” he said. “We are bound with seriously mentally ill prisoners. We have many more gang members than previously. And our population is growing. That is typical of jails all over the country.”
Phil Fornaci, a prisoners’ rights advocate for the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, said the low pay of guards created problems of its own.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for vice,” Fornaci said. “It’s a common problem everywhere.”
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has called America’s jails “a national disgrace.” Webb has introduced a bill that would convene a commission to recommend “top-to-bottom” reform of the nation’s jail system.
