Congress has injected nearly $3 million into long-stalled efforts to improve conditions in the dilapidated inmate pens behind the District of Columbia’s Superior Court.
The money, set aside in an earmark that was signed into law by President Bush last week, is only a fraction of the $43 million that the court and the U.S. Marshals Service have said they need to bring the cells up to code. But the earmark’s as-yet unidentified author hopes it will help the two agencies “address substandard health and security conditions” in the cells.
Hundreds of defendants move through the cramped holding pens in court every day. In September, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found 166 violations of federal and local health and safety codes in the cell, some dating back at least 10 years.
Fine’s agents found, among other things, moldy ceiling tiles “contaminated with plumbing wasted left inside” and standing water in the marshals’ offices on the adult level, along with “problems with the emergency lighting and fire alarm” in the juvenile holding cells.
Defendants and prisoners’ rights group have complained for years about the cells, arguing that in addition to causing health problems, inmates and marshals are squeezed together, leaving defendants to stand for hours at a time and breeding constant violence.
Fine blamed conditions in the cells for the fatal escape of a defendant who slipped out of line at the loading dock and clung to the underside of a prisoners’ bus. He lost his grip near the entrance of the Third Street tunnel and was struck by oncoming traffic.
The cells are behind Superior Court but are staffed by the marshals service. The two agencies have bickered over responsibility for fixing the problems.
Citing the inspector general’s September report, the earmark says that marshals and court officials “are strongly urged to work together in a coordinated manner.”
Courts Executive Officer Anne Wicks told The Examiner in a statement Monday that her agency has set aside an additional $16 million to “upgrade the Marshals’ space.”
A spokesman for the Marshals’ Service declined comment.
Court holding cells
» Built in 1975-76
» Originally served 44 courtrooms
» Now serve 94 courtrooms
