While deaths at the St. Louis City Justice Center this year are the fewest since 2021, the city's Public Safety Department reports that at least 18 detainees have died since 2020.
On the heels of a City Hall protest against jail conditions last month, and after Mayor Tishaura Jones hired former St. Louis County jail director Doug Burris as a city jail consultant on Dec. 2, leaders from the city's Detention Facilities Oversight Board are weighing in.
The board chair, the Rev. Darryl Gray, sat down with STLPR reporter Lacretia Wimbley to discuss promises made last week by Commissioner of Corrections Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah. Gray said that the board is planning a public panel discussion at City Hall next month and that the city's public safety leaders will be invited.
This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.
Lacretia Wimbley: It was only in April that you and other board members were allowed for the first time to meet with a detainee at the jail. How often have you or other members of the board met with detainees since?
The Rev. Darryl Gray: Zero. The rationale or reason or excuse that we have been given is that we have to get permission from their lawyers in order to meet with them. We continue to ask for those meetings. We have yet to hear back from the CJC, you know, we just remain hopeful.
Wimbley: Now, you met with jail Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah on Wednesday last week after she returned from her nearly three-month leave of absence. What did you discuss?
Gray: It was a very cordial, I would say, 45-minute conversation where I asked her how she was doing. And I began to ask her, 'What can we do to work together?' I said all we want is to be able to do our job.
Wimbley: What was her response to that?
Gray: She said, beginning in January, I will make my COs [corrections officers] available to your staff so that together you can begin to go through the complaints, [both] the internal complaints and the external complaints. My jaw hit the ground because that’s all we’ve been asking for, for the last three years, and we get it in a conversation on a sidewalk. Personally, I felt the strain that she must be under, having the responsibility of not only 750-plus detainees but correctional officers and staff as well.
Wimbley: What are some of the qualities that you want to see demonstrated in her leadership?
Gray: Accountability is essential. You are responsible for the lives of everyone in this building. How are you doing your job? How are you making sure that people are safe? How are you making sure that people receive the type of health services that they require?
Wimbley: Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced last week that Doug Burris, former acting director of the St. Louis County jail, has contracted with the city to assess and recommend fixes at CJC. Burris is credited for bringing improvements to the county jail after several detainees died in 2019. What message does the city’s hiring of Doug Burris as a consultant send to you?
Gray: I think if you were going to bring in a consultant – we’re 18 deaths later. What is he going to find that we don’t already know? What is he going to say that we haven’t already said? When we lost those two board members, why didn’t we bring in a consultant then? When the protesters protested at the jail the first time, why didn’t we bring a consultant then? And I know Doug. Doug’s good people. The timing is questionable.
Wimbley: You are a longtime civil rights activist. For more than 40 years, you’ve fought for racial justice. Why is this volunteer work on the Oversight Board something you continue to do, despite the struggles?
Gray: I mean we’ve got some vulnerable people in our society, but there are 2,000 Black men in city and county jail right now. That’s 2,000 Black families that are affected by this. There’s a passage of scripture that I try to follow all of my life. Jesus said, ‘When I was in prison you visited me.’ Jesus said, 'When you have done it unto the least of these, you’ve done it unto me.' I believe that all of us are called to live for the sake of others.
Wimbley: Your term on the Oversight Board expires on Jan. 20. Do you plan to keep serving?
Gray: If given the opportunity, I would do one more term for transition’s sake.
This story has been updated.
