Advocates for reforming St. Louis’ jail say they’re concerned that the city hiring a consultant this month to assess the City Justice Center’s issues and the return of its corrections commissioner after a monthslong leave are just the latest turns in a carousel of reports, commissions and administrations that have failed to produce meaningful change at the jail, where 18 detainees have died since 2020.
“Lyda Krewson had the jail commissioned, and then Tishaura [Jones] made the [Detention Facilities Oversight Board], and then the DFOB has been restricted. Kim Gardner hired a law firm to investigate conditions at the CJC, so there's a report from that,” said Maureen Hanlon, an attorney at the legal advocacy group ArchCity Defenders. “I was joking the other day that we're going to have a commission to learn about the jail commissions.”
Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced last week that Doug Burris, former acting director of St. Louis County’s jail, has contracted with the city to assess and recommend fixes to its jail. Burris is credited for bringing improvements and stability to the county jail after a series of its detainees died in 2019.
The Detention Facilities Oversight Board was not made aware of Burris' assessment of the jail until it was announced publicly, said the board's chairman, the Rev. Darryl Gray, calling the lack of communication "deeply concerning."
Also last week, Commissioner of Corrections Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah returned to work after a nearly three-month leave of absence, according to the mayor’s office. The reason for her temporary leave has not been made public.
Since becoming commissioner in 2021, Clemons-Abdullah has faced public scrutiny due to jail conditions, detainee deaths, and a hostage situation where a guard in his 70s was injured and taken hostage. She also encountered calls for her resignation from members of the St. Louis Detention Facilities Oversight Board. Attorneys say they’ve struggled to speak to their clients in the jail.
The corrections commissioner's return has not been warmly embraced by critics of the jail.
“It’s concerning given the experience we’ve watched detained people have since she began,” Hanlon said.
Others say her reemergence was expected.
“Is not surprising that the CJC commissioner is back,” Gray wrote on X, noting that her return has drawn strong reactions. “The biggest surprise is that there have not been any concerns by the administration prior to the protest.” Gray said he’s hopeful for progress but waiting to see what happens after meeting with Clemons-Abdullah last week.
Frustrations over the jail and its leadership have disrupted city business recently.
Nearly 100 demonstrators from ArchCity Defenders, the Freedom Community Center and other groups temporarily halted a St. Louis Board of Aldermen meeting Nov. 22 with chants and by unfurling signs from the board chamber’s mezzanine that read, “No jail deaths.”
The groups submitted a joint letter to Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office that day that demanded better health care and transparency at the jail, an end to detainee abuse and justice for the 18 people who died in the jail’s custody since 2020. Board members Alisha Sonnier of the 7th Ward and Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward promised organizers a public safety hearing soon to address concerns.
The mayor’s office issued a response last week, the same day that Clemons-Abdullah returned to work, that highlighted what she called progress at the troubled jail during her administration, including upgrades to the facility, improvement to detainee meals, hiring a new civilian oversight commissioner, integration of mental health professionals in detainee intake processes and oversight by the city’s health department.
“We are in complete agreement that jail should not be a death sentence,” Jones’ statement reads. “While care continues to improve and it is notable that 2024 saw the fewest number of deaths at the jail since 2021, we also agree that there is more work to be done.”
Jones attributed the decline of in-custody deaths at the CJC to oversight from the city’s health department and the jail’s change of medical vendor to Physician Correctional USA last year. The city's medical examiner reports four people in custody at the jail died in 2020, one died in 2021, six died in 2022, five died in 2023, and two people have died so far this year.
A majority of those deaths were attributed to health problems and drug overdoses — many of which could have been prevented if adequate health care were provided, prison reform advocates say.
Webster University criminology associate professor Allison Gorga said that correctional officers sometimes fail to understand detainee health issues and that understaffing can further delay care and lead to serious medical emergencies.
“They sometimes don't care if somebody has a medical problem, or if they're understaffed, delivering a sick call to medical is [deemed] less important than managing the safety and security of the facility.”
Hanlon, of ArchCity Defenders, said complaints made by people in custody often fall on deaf ears. And when they do complain, they’re punished for it, she said.
“The issue is that, when I talk to detainees, there's not a way to submit a complaint” to the Detention Facilities Oversight Board, Hanlon said.
ArchCity Defenders and other advocates brought a federal class-action lawsuit against the city jail that claims that corrections officers excessively and indiscriminately used mace and pepper spray on detainees. Hanley said mace exacerbates preexisting health conditions such as asthma and can lead to death.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 and is ongoing.
