Statement of D Lowell Jensen Before the Senate Subcommittee on District of Columbia Committee on Appropriations Concerning District of Columbia Prison Overcrowding on April 16, 1986

• NCJ Number: 101551
• Author(s): D L Jensen
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Testimony before a Senate subcommittee details the negotiations between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the District of Columbia Government regarding remedies for the overcrowding of D.C. prisons. Noted are the inadequacy of the expansion of D.C.prison capacity and the large numbers of D.C. prisoners housed in Federal prisons.

Abstract

Litigation between jail inmates and the D.C. Department of Corrections resulted in a July 1985 court order forbidding D.C. from adding any new prisoners to the D.C. jail. The United States is not a party to this litigation, but has long urged the city to build a new prison to prevent the overcrowding crisis. In February 1986, D.C. officials sought a temporary restraining order to require Federal custody for all newly sentenced D.C. Code violators. The motion was denied. Both the judge and DOJ have noted the inadequate efforts of the D.C. Government to resolve the crisis. D.C. has several options for housing prisoners temporarily, but has not pursued them. The Federal prisons currently house 2,400 D.C. prisoners, compared to 800 from all 50 States. The Federal prison system as a whole is operating 47 percent above capacity. It has made extraordinary efforts to aid D.C., but needs to reduce its own overcrowding to ensure a safe and humane environment for both inmates and staff of Federal prisons. Data tables.