CRIPA Investigation, Chesapeake (VA)

Memorandum

"

"

"

VH

HV

»

M

^

JC-VA-0002-0003

AEP:MHN:SYB:VBR:drb
Date

Subject

Recommendation to Investigate
Virginia J a i l s
Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

January 6, 1995

Arthur E. Peabody, Jr.
From

, .

_

•* '

Chief
Special Litigation Section

RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
Act, we recommend an investigation into the conditions of
confinement in the Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton and Virginia
Beach City Jails (hereinafter Virginia Jails) pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
Recently, we investigated the Norfolk City Jail in Norfolk,
Virginia, and discovered severe life-threatening conditions. In
part, as a result of that successful investigation, we have
received numerous allegations regarding unconstitutional jail
conditions in other Virginia jails. Reportedly, these jails also
pose severe life-threatening conditions. More specifically,
diverse sources have made numerous complaints about deficiencies
in the following areas: (1) staffing and supervision resulting
in inmate upon inmate and staff upon inmate violence, (2) medical
and mental health care, (3) physical plant, (4) exercise,
(5) overcrowding, (6) due process, (7) access to courts, and
(8) religious freedom.
This proposed investigation of four Virginia jails follows
upon the successful completion of investigations of eighteen city
and county jails in Mississippi and the new investigation of
eleven jails in southwest Georgia. While patterned after the
Mississippi and Georgia models, which focused on smaller rural
jails, each of the Virginia jails serves a major metropolitan
area. Indeed, the combined total population of the subject
Virginia jails is over 2,000 prisoners. Accordingly, we believe
the Virginia jails investigation will continue to maximize the
results of investigative activities and will prove to be costefficient and productive.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
On August 18, 1994,
Prison Project requested
conduct an investigation
Virginia jails, alleging
cc:

Jackson

Alvin Bronstein, Director, ACLU National
that the Special Litigation Section
into conditions of confinement at the
a pattern or practice of

- 2 unconstitutional deprivations. Other sources of information
include the U.S. Marshals Service, private attorneys, private
citizens, letters from current and former inmates of the
facilities, as well as newspaper articles. 1/
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
The Virginia jails reportedly have unconstitutional
conditions in many areas including overcrowding, staffing,
violence, medical care, mental health care, due process, access
to courts, religious freedom, exercise, and physical plant.
Based on the information received, we recommend CRIPA
investigations of the following Virginia jails:
I.

Newport News City Jail. Newport News. Virginia
A.

Severe Overcrowding and Understaffing

The Newport News City Jail (NNCJ), constructed in 1976, has
a design capacity of 112 persons but currently houses
approximately 53 6 prisoners in a structure devoid of windows.2/
Over 6,000 inmates are admitted to the jail annually, including
pretrial detainees and convicted persons.2/
The NNCJ is grossly overcrowded and severely
understaffed.4/ The jail is so severely crowded that inmates
are forced to sleep on the floor in every cellblock and
dayroom.5/ For example, in a space intended for 14 prisoners 30
are currently housed.6/ Even the disciplinary segregation
1/ While many of our sources had general comments about the
Virginia jails, no network of legal services or prisoner advocacy
groups exist in this geographic area to give us firsthand
knowledge of conditions at these jails.
2/ ACA National Directory of Jails and Adult Detention
Facilities; U.S. Marshals Service, Inspection Report of Newport
News City Jail (March 1, 1994); Newsday. July 20, 1993; Letters
from Jonathan Smith, August 9, 1994 and September 11, 1994.
3_/ ACA National Directory of Jails and Adult Detention
Facilities.
4./ Telephone Interview with Phillip Duncan, U.S. Marshal Service
(December 5, 1994); U.S. Marshals Service, Inspection Report of
Newport News City Jail (March 1, 1994).
5/ Telephone Interview with Phillip Duncan, U.S. Marshal Service
(December 5, 1994); Letter from Jonathan Smith, August 9, 1994.
6/

Id.

cells, which contain only one bunk each, are double-celled with
one inmate sleeping on the floor due to a lack of space.7/
Cells which are only 5 by 8 feet, house 2 prisoners.8/ Even
the dormitories of NNCJ are overcrowded. The dormitories, which
are designed to accommodate 14 prisoners, now house 28 prisoners
in beds and another 10 or more prisoners sleep on the floor.9/
Each dorm contains one shower, two combination sinks/toilets, and
one picnic table which is also used as a bunk at night for 38
plus inmates.10/ This means that 38 plus inmates have only
one shower and 2 toilets/sinks for personal hygiene. Due to the
extensive overcrowding, juveniles are housed in isolation cells
with solid steel doors which remain closed 24 hours per
day.11/ These isolation cells are designed to accommodate
only one prisoner but house up to three juveniles.12/
Juveniles are also reportedly housed in the lock-up section of
NNCJ with adult prisoners.13/ The lock-up section of NNCJ
consists of forty-seven 5 by 8 feet cells containing only a
single bed and a combination toilet/sink. Each of these cells
reportedly house as many as five prisoners.¿4ƒ Even the
medical dormitory, which contains a total of seven beds, has as
many as eight inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
Additionally, the jail is reportedly understaffed with fewer
than 12 jailers per shift to guard more than 536 inmates.15/
This represents a ratio of inmates to guards of 45 to 1, creating
an extremely dangerous environment for both inmates and jailers.
As a result of the lack of staff, some inmates are required to
2/

Id.

8/

Id.

9_/ Letter from inmate Jonathan Lee to Alvin Bronstein, Director,
ACLU National Prison Project (August 9, 1994) (on file with the
U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation
Section).
10/

Id.

11/ Letter from Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, Director,
ACLU, National Prison Project (September 11, 1994) (on file with
the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special
Litigation Section).

127
13/

Id.; Letter from Lee to Bronstein, supra note 9.

14/

Id.

15/

ACA National Jail and Adult Detention Directory.

- 4 wear leg irons and handcuffs while being transported within the
jail, participating in outdoor recreation, and even while ^
showering.16/
B. Violence
As a result of the severe overcrowding and understaffing,
violence, including physical and sexual assaults, has increased,
resulting in serious injuries. Several inmates who were beaten
and sexually assaulted while confined in NNCJ have filed lawsuits
against the jail administration charging that the attacks could
have been prevented.17/ Additionally, inmate victims with
serious injuries are reportedly treated and returned to the same
cellblock with the prisoner or prisoners who inflicted their
injuries.18/
Moreover, guard on inmate violence is at an all time high.
On July 24, 1994, an inmate was allegedly hit in the head with a
radio by a deputy for refusing to take his medication.19/
This incident resulted in the inmate being transported to the
hospital for medical treatment, including 12 stitches to close
his wound. 20/ Upon his return from the hospital, the inmate
was handcuffed and shackled in his cell for two weeks.21/ On
August 29, 1994, another inmate was beaten and hog-tied by five
deputies and denied medical treatment for his injuries.22/ In
another violent incident, an inmate was reportedly maliciously
and needlessly shocked by jailers with some type of electrical
device resulting in permanent arm damage.23/ Another inmate
was allegedly retaliated against by NNCJ personnel and
subsequently transferred to another correctional facility for

16/

Letter from Smith to Bronstein, supra note 11.

17/

USA Today. November 8, 1993 (Inmate filed $5 million suit).

18/

Id.

19/ Letter from Tyrone Richardson to Shanetta Brown, Attorney,
U.S. Department of Justice (August 15, 1994); supra note 9.
20/

Id.

21/

Id.

22/ Letter from Franco Harrison to Jan Elvin, Editor, ACLU
National Prison Project (August 26, 1994) (on file with the U.S.
Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division).
23/

Letter from Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, supra note 9.

- 5 bringing the jail conditions to the attention of the Department
of Justice.24/
NNCJ affords no provision for privacy or sight and sound
separation of females and juveniles from adult males. Male
inmates, handcuffed and shackled in the nude, are placed in
stripped cells, reportedly in full view of female prisoners,
female deputies and recruits, as well as female reporters.25/
In addition, male inmates housed in the lock-up section are
unobstructedly observed by both female inmates and guards.2 6/
C.

Inadequate Medical Care

The overcrowding and understaffing has impacted the medical
and mental care delivery system within NNCJ. Our information
indicates that inmates are arbitrarily denied and delayed access
to medical treatment on a routine basis. The decision to provide
access to medical attention is solely at the discretion of the
jailers. Recently, NNCJ officials instituted a medical copayment
plan to reduce frivolous doctor visits by inmates. Under this
plan, inmates would be charged $10 per doctor or dentist visit
and $3 per prescription.27/ Our sources reveal that the
required copayment is used as a deterrent to necessary medical
care. Additionally, indigent prisoners are reportedly denied
care because they are unable to afford the copayment. Inmates
report delays as long as five months to obtain access to a
dentist if the inmate is unable to pay for his services.28/
Reportedly, NNCJ is unable to access medical care during
unscheduled physician hours.29/ It is alleged that jail
personnel are deliberately indifferent to the serious medical
needs of inmates and fail to isolate inmates with contagious
diseases. This is best illustrated by the following incident.
Despite one inmate's warning that he had full blown AIDS and an
active case of hepatitis, jailers totally ignored his warning and
24/ Letter to Arthur Peabody, Chief, Special Litigation Section,
U.S. Department of Justice from Alvin Bronstein, Director, ACLU
National Prison Project (September 20, 1994); Letter from
Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, Director, ACLU National Prison
Project (September 20, 1994) (on file with the U.S. Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section).
25/

Letter from Jonathan Lee to Alvin Bronstein, supra note 11.

26/

Id.

27/

The Washington Times. Washington, D.C., October 2, 1994.

28/

Id.

29/

Id.

- 6 placed him in a cell with three other inmates.3 0/ In
addition, the inmate was forced to sleep on the floor, without a
blanket or a mattress, and was never provided any medical care
during his entire incarceration at NNCJ.31/
D.

Inadequate Mental Health Care

Reportedly, NNCJ fails to provide adequate mental health
care. Allegedly, inmates prescribed psychotropic medications in
the free world do not receive their prescribed medication once
incarcerated at NNCJ.3 2/ Further, prisoners with serious
mental problems are reportedly housed for long periods of time
without access to a psychologist or psychiatrist.33/ It is
even alleged that prisoners are denied their medication by
medical staff if they are asleep when the medication is
dispersed.34/
E.

Inadequate Due Process and Access To Courts

NNCJ fails to afford prisoners even the minimum due process
rights mandated by law before disciplinary action is taken.35/
Prisoners are allegedly not allowed representation, witnesses, or
advance notice of any disciplinary hearing which usually results
in arbitrary punishment, i.e.. isolation time, loss of all
privileges and good time.36/ The grievance procedure at NNCJ
is inadequate and ineffective. Reportedly the jailer who is the
subject of the grievance normally reviews and destroys the
grievance against him, and then retaliates against the
inmate.37/ Grievances, therefore, are rarely ever answered or
returned.38/ Further, inmates placed in segregation are
allegedly not provided monthly reviews to determine their
30/ Letter from Willie Wester to Arthur Peabody, Chief, Special
Litigation Section (August 23, 1994).
31/

Id.

32/

Letter from Jonathan Lee to Alvin Bronstein, supra note 11.

33/

Id.

34/

Id.

35/

Id.

36/ Id.; Letter from Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, supra
note 9.
37/
38/

Id.

- 7 eligibility for reassignment to general population, but rather
are confined in segregation cells for months and even
years.39/ Moreover, jail personnel allegedly delay the
release of prisoners they dislike for up to four hours after
their release has been ordered by a judge.40/ On August 24,
1994, the release of one inmate from NNCJ was ordered by a judge
at 11:00 a.m.41/ However, the deputies did not release this
inmate until 3:30 p.m.42/
Our sources indicate that prisoners confined at NNCJ are
reportedly denied access to courts. NNCJ does not provide a law
library or any legal assistance for inmates. In fact, prisoners
must purchase their own legal materials from the State's law
library at a prohibitive cost. Prisoners are not even provided
writing materials necessary for communicating with their
attorneys or the courts, including paper, envelopes, pencils, or
stamps.43/ ït is further alleged that incoming legal
materials are confiscated or significantly delayed up to two
weeks by the jailers.44/
F.

Lack of Religious Freedom

NNCJ fails to allow all its inmates the opportunity to
exercise their religious freedom. For example, Muslims are
restricted to meeting one day per week in the TV room with other
prisoners who are watching TV. Muslims are not allowed to have
prayer rugs or religious caps or pork free meals.45/ However,
the NNCJ allows inmates of the Christian faith to meet several
times per week and receive counseling from outside
representatives as well as materials from the jail
chaplain.4 6/ Muslim inmates, therefore, allege disparate
treatment in the provision of religious services, including
space, materials and time.

39/

id.

40/
11.

Letter from Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, supra note

41/

Id.

42/

Id.

43/

Id.

44/

Id.

45/

Id.

46/

Id.

- 8 -

G.

Lack of Exercise

Inmates confined to NNCJ are provided inadequate
opportunities for exercise. Even though the jail is devoid of
windows, prisoners confined at NNCJ are routinely not afforded
outdoor recreation due to staff shortages.47/ In addition,
inmates confined in segregation status are not afforded any
outdoor recreation, and are therefore forced to remain in their
cells 24 hours per day.48/
In addition to the above allegations, NNCJ reportedly has an
unsanitary and unhealthy living environment that is worse than
Norfolk City Jail.49/ Inmates are not provided any cleaning
materials. Due to the overcrowding, incoming inmates are not
provided showers nor basic hygiene items, i.e.. toothpaste,
toothbrush, wash cloth, mattress, blanket or linen.50/
II.

Chesapeake City Jail. Chesapeake, Virginia

Chesapeake City Jail (CCJ), built in 1961 and renovated in
1988, handles at least 5,300 inmate admissions yearly, including
pretrial detainees and convicted persons.51/
A.

Overcrowding and Understaffinq

CCJ is severely overcrowded and grossly understaffed.52/
The jail currently houses 461 prisoners in a facility designed
for 159 inmates.53/ As many as three inmates are housed in
cells measuring less than 35 square feet. 54/ Exacerbating
the overcrowding problem is the fact that the jail is severely
understaffed with less than 24 jailers per shift to guard 461
47/

Id.; Newsdav. July 20, 1993.

48/

Id.

49/

Letter from Jonathan Smith to Alvin Bronstein, supra note 9.

50/

Id.

51/

ACA National Jail and Adult Detention Directory.

52/ Telephone conversation with Phillip Duncan, U.S. Marshals
Service, December 5, 1994; U.S. Marshals Service, Inspection
Report of Chesapeake City Jail, March 17, 1994.
53/ Id. ; The Virginian Pilot and The Ledger-Star. Norfolk,
Virginia, June 23, 1994.
54/ U.S. Marshals Service, Inspection Report of Chesapeake City
Jail, March 17, 1994.

- 9 prisoners.55/ The ratio of inmates to guards stands at 19 to
1, 56/ creating an extremely dangerous situation for both
inmates and guards in terms of protection from harm. The most
horrendous example of inadequate protection from harm is
illustrated by the following incident. Two pretrial detainees
were stripped naked, ordered to run through a gauntlet of inmates
who beat, raped and forced them to perform oral sex on a whole
cellblock of inmates. 57/ For three and a half hours these
inmates "screamed their lungs out," while a jailer whose "desk
was an easy listening distance from the block," ignored their
cries for help. 58/ This egregious incident could have been
prevented with adequate supervision and appropriate housing based
upon an objective classification system.
B.

Inadequate Medical Care

Allegedly, CCJ fails to provide adequate medical care to its
inmates. As a way to eliminate unnecessary doctor visits, CCJ
has instituted a medical copayment plan for inmates.59/ Our
sources indicate that the copayment plan is improperly used as a
deterrent to obtaining necessary medical care.
III.

Hampton City Jail. Hampton. Virginia
A.

Overcrowding and Understaffing

The Hampton City Jail (HCJ) , constructed in 1962 and
renovated in 1979, is a three floor facility 60/ designed to
house 156 prisoners but currently houses 358 pretrial detainees

55/

Id.

56/

Id.

57/ The Washington Post. Washington, D.C., November 28, 1994;
United Press International, January 8, 1993; The Virginian Pilot
and Ledger Star. Norfolk, Virginia, October 5, 1993. Interview
of Jeffrey Breit, private attorney, in Norfolk, Virginia
(September 22, 1994).
58/

Id.

59/ The Virginian Pilot and Ledger Star. Norfolk, Virginia,
June 19, 1994 and June 17, 1994.
60/ Letter from Horace Gray to Shanetta Brown, Attorney, U.S.
Department of Justice (October 6, 1994).

- 10 and convicted persons.61/ The jail services 9,106 inmates
annually. 62/ HCJ is severely understaffed with less than 19
guards per shift to control 358 inmates.63/ The ratio of
inmates to guards is 19 to 1. Allegedly, HCJ is severely
overcrowded with 20 prisoners living in a space designed to hold
14, resulting in 6 persons sleeping on the floor and
tables.64/ Reportedly, there is no space at HCJ for inmates
to eat or to move around.65/
B.

Violence

Inmates at HCJ are reportedly not afforded any protection
from harm. Our sources indicate that inmates, who have been
severely beaten, are not physically separated from their
assailants, but must continue to share the same overcrowded
cell.66/ Reportedly, numerous inmates at HCJ have been beaten
and maimed by other inmates. On August 19, 1994, inmate T.B. was
savagely beaten by four inmates resulting in serious injuries
which required the inmate to be hospitalized with a broken eye
socket and two fractured sinus bones.67/ On the same day, and
in the same cellblock, another inmate, S.W., was severely beaten
by five inmates, four of whom were assailants of the earlier
maiming.68/ This inmate's injuries included several chipped
or broken teeth, bruises and facial injuries.69/ In another
incident, an inmate at HCJ was brutally beaten by inmates
resulting in the loss of his spleen.70/

61/ ACA Directory of Jails and Adult Detention Facilities; U.S.
Marshals Service, Inspection Report of Hampton City Jail, March
14, 1994.
62/

Id.

63/ ACA National Directory of Jails and Adult Detention
Facilities.
64/

Letter from Horace Gray to Shanetta Brown, supra note 60.

65/

Id.

66/ Letter from Philip Coswell to Shanetta Brown, Attorney, U.S.
Department of Justice (August 19, 1994).
67/

Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia, August 27, 1994.

68/

Id.

69/

Id.

70/

Id.

- 11 C.

Medical Care. Physical Plant and Fire Safety

In addition to the problems associated with crowding,
understaffing, and the lack of protection from harm, HCJ
allegedly fails to provide adequate medical care, sanitary
physical plant, adequate fire safety, adequate food service,
adequate ventilation and adequate exercise.71/ Inmates
reportedly receive no exercise and are forced to remain in their
cells 24 hours per day even though the jail affords no
ventilation.72/ The jail is also reported to be roach and
mice infested 73/ and is "nastier than Norfolk City
Jail."74/
HCJ personnel allegedly tampers with inmate incoming legal
mail. Allegedly, a letter from DOJ was torn in half and only
half of the letter was delivered to the inmate.75/
IV.

Virginia Beach City Jail. Virginia Beach. Virginia

Virginia Beach¯City Jail (VBCJ) constructed in 1979, and
renovated in 1982, has a rated capacity of 563 inmates but houses
658 inmates in a physical plant which is modern, clean and well
maintained.76/ VBCJ admits over 10,000 pretrial and convicted
inmates annually.77/
However, we have received information that prisoners
confined at the Virginia Beach City Jail (VBCJ) are being
sexually and physically assaulted by officers and inmates. In
one incident as punishment for complaining about inoperative
toilets, guards hit six inmates with stun guns while they were

71/ Letter from Floyd Addison to Shanetta Brown, Attorney, U.S.
Department of Justice (October 12, 1994); Letter from Horace Gray
to Shanetta Brown, supra note 60.
72/

Id.

73/

Letter from Horace Gray to Shanetta Brown, supra note 60.

74/

Letter from Floyd Addison to Shanetta Brown, supra note 71.

75/ Letter from Philip Cowell to Shanetta Brown, Attorney, U.S.
Department of Justice (September 9, 1994).
76/ ACA National Directory of Jails and Adult Detention
Facilities.
77/

Id.

- 12 i

lying on the floor in standing water.78/ In another incident,
an inmate was beaten by three guards in an unprovoked attack
allegedly as retaliation for filing grievances concerning denial
of religious practices and medical treatment.79/ Reportedly,
another inmate was raped and sodomized by two deputies in
September, 1994.80/ We have also received allegations on the
improper use of restraints at VBCJ. Reportedly, inmates who
"buck the system" are improperly restrained in a strait jacket
and placed in either a "bucking chair" or a stretcher, for long
periods of time, during which they are denied basic needs and
medical attention.81/
Moreover, Muslim inmates allege that they are denied any
opportunity to exercise their religious freedom.82/
CONCLUSION
We believe these allegations warrant an investigation of
conditions at the Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton and Virginia
Beach City Jails. Accordingly, we have attached for your
signature the appropriate letters notifying city officials of our
intent to investigate these Virginia jails.
Attachments
Approved:
Disapproved:
Comments:

78/ Letter from Jerry Belsky to Vonnie Ryan, Paralegal
Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (May 29, 1994).
79/ Pro Se Complaint of Stephen Jackson-Bey from Jerry Belsky to
Vonnie Ryan, Paralegal Specialist (December 11, 1994).
80/ Affidavit of Anthony Brown from Jerry Belsky to Vonnie Ryan,
Paralegal Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (September 23,
1994) .

81/ Id.; Letter from Roy Perry to Vonnie Ryan,
Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (May 13,
of Stephen Jackson from Jerry Belsky (September
file with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil
Special Litigation Section).
82/

Id.

Paralegal
1994); Affidavit
23, 1994) (on
Rights Division,

- 12 lying on the floor in standing water.78/ In another incident,
an inmate was beaten by three guards in an unprovoked attack
allegedly as retaliation for filing grievances concerning denial
of religious practices and medical treatment.79/ Reportedly,
another inmate was raped and sodomized by two deputies in
September, 1994.80/ We have also received allegations on the
improper use of restraints at VBCJ. Reportedly, inmates who
"buck the system" are improperly restrained in a strait jacket
and placed in either a "bucking chair" or a stretcher, for long
periods of time, during which they are denied basic needs and
medical attention.81/
Moreover, Muslim inmates allege that they are denied any
opportunity to exercise their religious freedom.82/
CONCLUSION
We believe these allegations warrant an investigation of
conditions at the Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton and Virginia
Beach City Jails. Accordingly, we have attached for your
signature the appropriate letters notifying city officials of our
intent to investigate these Virginia jails.
Attachments
Approved:
Disapproved:
Comments:

78/ Letter from Jerry Belsky to Vonnie Ryan, Paralegal
Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (May 29, 1994).
79/ Pro Se Complaint of Stephen Jackson-Bey from Jerry Belsky to
Vonnie Ryan, Paralegal Specialist (December 11, 1994).
80/ Affidavit of Anthony Brown from Jerry Belsky to Vonnie Ryan,
Paralegal Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (September 23,
1994) .
81/ Id.; Letter from Roy Perry to Vonnie Ryan,
Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice (May 13,
of Stephen Jackson from Jerry Belsky (September
file with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil
Special Litigation Section).
82/

Id.

Paralegal
1994); Affidavit
23, 1994) (on
Rights Division,