Overcrowding and shoddy conditions at the jail in the D.C. courthouse have placed U.S. Marshals and prisoners at risk and led to the death of at least one inmate last year, according to federal investigators.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General found more than 160 safety, security and health violations at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse space used by the U.S. Marshals Service. While some of the unsafe conditions have developed recently, most have existed for more than five years, according to the inspectors.
Each day, more than 300 prisoners are run through the courthouse, more than twice as many as the cellblock was designed for, according to the report and government sources.
In November, the deputies were moved to offices two blocks away because of standing water that poured onto the floor during rainstorms, leaving a constantly wet and moldy carpet. Ceiling tiles were contaminated with plumbing waste and never removed, the report found.
The report blames the death of one inmate on a broken garage door at the jail.
Simmie Bellamy, a 27-year-old inmate, slipped away from a group of prisoners at the loading dock because the guards were focused on the garage door, which wouldn’t close, the report said. Bellamy escaped by clinging to the undercarriage of a bus, but was killed after he lost his grip and fell into oncoming traffic.
Chief Judge Rufus King III said he wasn’t surprised by the findings.
But the judge said he believes the shortage of deputies presents a greater danger for the District’s courthouse. Divorce and child custody courtrooms remained unmanned by deputies, and criminal proceedings are often delayed for hours because there are no deputies available, King said.
“Everyone knew the conditions were less than ideal, just as everyone knows there are not enough deputies,” King told The Examiner. “We have to do the best with what we have.”
U.S. Marshals officials did not respond to requests for comments.
The D.C. courts provides the space to the U.S. Marshals, who are required to meet federal standards.
The conditions won’t be fixed until the D.C. courts and the U.S. Marshals Service can agree on who will be responsible for requesting money and maintaining the space, the report concluded. One recent study commissioned by the D.C. courts estimated that the renovations will cost about $43 million.
