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| Prisoners sue city over jail crowding, call for use of cap |
| By Washington Post |
| Published: 07/04/2005 |
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A prisoners' advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the District government last week, claiming that crowded conditions are endangering inmates at the D.C. jail. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of seven inmates by the D.C. Prisoners' Legal Services Project, seeks a court order to force Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) to set a population cap at the jail. It accuses the mayor of violating a law passed by the D.C. Council that was meant to ease crowding and improve conditions and operations. The suit revives a long-standing controversy over the jail's population. The jail was subject to a court-ordered population cap of 1,674 inmates until June 2002, when a federal judge lifted a limit after 17 years. According to the lawsuit, the jail now has between 2,300 and 2,400 inmates. The advocacy group said that Williams has not complied with a law that took effect Jan. 30, 2004. The law, passed in the aftermath of two fatal stabbings of inmates, required Williams to set a population cap based on recommendations of an independent consultant. A firm hired by Williams suggested in April 2004 that the jail's population be fixed at 1,958 to 2,164 inmates. The firm, Pulitzer/Bogard & Associates, said that it did not intend, however, for that to immediately become a legal limit, saying that it also wanted the city to consider other steps to address the population issue. The lawsuit requests that the city be held by the firm's standard, saying that the crowding is so bad that the seven plaintiffs are "fearful for their safety." The case was filed in D.C. Superior Court. |
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