Washington, D.C. – During the week of October 18, the U.S.
Marshal for the District of Columbia conducted an unannounced inspection
of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DC DOC)
facilities that house several hundred detainees who are facing charges
in the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and Maryland or
are awaiting placement in a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility to
serve their sentence. While the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is
responsible for the care and custody of these detainees, under an
agreement between the federal and DC governments, the DC DOC is
responsible for determining where within their corrections facilities
the inmates will be housed; maintaining and staffing the physical
facilities; and providing for detainees.
The USMS inspection was
prompted by recent and historical concerns raised regarding conditions
at the DC DOC facilities, including those recently raised by various
members of the judiciary.
The inspection encompassed two DC DOC
housing facilities – the Central Treatment Facility (CTF) and the
Central Detention Facility (CDF). During the unannounced inspection, the
U.S. Marshal reviewed both housing facilities and conducted more than
300 voluntary interviews with detainees.
The U.S. Marshal’s
inspection of CTF did not identify conditions that would necessitate the
transfer of inmates from that facility at this time. CTF houses
approximately 120 detainees in the custody of the USMS, including all
the defendants in pre-trial custody related to alleged offenses stemming
from events that took place on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol, as well as
other federal detainees. Housing assignments for detainees are
determined by the DC DOC.
The U.S. Marshal’s inspection of CDF
revealed that conditions there do not meet the minimum standards of
confinement as prescribed by the Federal Performance-Based Detention
Standards. CDF houses approximately 400 detainees in the custody of the
USMS.
Based on the results of the unannounced inspection, USMS
leadership made the decision to remove from CDF all detainees under the
custody of the USMS. Working with the BOP, the USMS will transfer those
detainees to USP Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg BOP facility
provides attorney and visitor areas, medical care, and video
teleconferencing capabilities. The USMS is committed to ensuring that
detainees have adequate access to defense counsel, family support,
medical care, and discovery related to their cases while in USMS
custody.
The USMS has informed DC DOC of its findings, and the
USMS Prisoner Operations Division will work with DC DOC to initiate a
corrective action plan.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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America’s
First Federal Law Enforcement Agency