St. Louis City Justice Center

The people imprisoned were supposed to receive rehabilitative mental health services that allow them to stand trial, but they have been found to languish in jails — often for months — without having been found guilty of any crime.

St. Louis activists are again calling for the resignation of Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah and for the Detention Facilities Oversight Board to receive access to the jail.

St. Louis police officers on Thursday forcibly removed the vice chair of the St. Louis Detention Facilities Oversight Board from the St. Louis City Justice Center.

A new law on oversight took effect in 2022 but immediately faced legal challenges. The work has also been delayed by disputes over access to complaints and to the City Justice Center, St. Louis’ jail.

Two inmates with a history of disciplinary problems took the guard, a man in his 70s, hostage during breakfast service around 6 a.m. A police SWAT team had to use less-than-lethal force to rescue him.

The St. Louis Detention Facilities Oversight Board wants the city’s top officials to ask the Commissioner of Corrections Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah to resign by Friday. Board members say she is blocking them from entering the jail and investigating complaints of alleged misconduct.

St. Louis’ Detention Facilities Oversight Board is calling on city officials to compel the division of corrections to provide requested documentation on the St. Louis City Justice Center.

Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torturing inmates with mace and depriving them of water for days.

St. Louis officials plan to use part of the Medium Security Institution known as the Workhouse as a temporary holding facility after most inmates are moved this week. Public Safety officials said they’ll use the Workhouse if the City Justice Center becomes too crowded.

Kayla Reed shares what she saw at the City Justice Center and the Medium Security Institution, better known as the Workhouse — and what she hopes city leaders will do with those observations.