Progress has been made in fixing problems at Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility, federal monitors said in court Thursday, but District Court Judge Wilma Lewis issued an order finding the prison is in noncompliance with the settlement agreement and ordered that additional remedial relief is necessary.
Lewis issued her ruling at a status hearing that followed a visit from the federal monitoring team and the U.S. Department of Justice. The monitors, led by Ken Ray, interviewed staff and inmates and toured the facility earlier this week.
According to a news release from the Bureau of Corrections, the parties’ joint motion for a stipulated order was filed "in the interests of moving the bureau and the territory toward compliance with the settlement agreement in an expeditious and efficient manner."
The monitoring team had found improvements in conditions at Golden Grove since its previous visit in June. Its last three reports (see links below) had said the bureau had made "virtually no progress."
The monitor said the latest quarterly inspection showed improvements in safety and security, medical/mental health and training, both in overall procedures and in staffing.
Recent hires of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and social worker, as well as recruitment efforts for additional medical professionals to include another social worker, a doctor and a pharmacist were seen as positive steps.
In referencing security, the team reported it saw an “improved situation” that resulted in repaired locking systems as well as newly purchased locks, which cost about $50,000. The monitors applauded the maintenance team for completing this issue. They did, however, note that a comprehensive inventory indicating the type and condition of each lock, beginning at the perimeter of the facility and throughout, was still necessary.
An assessment of the fire and life safety protocols indicated that, while fire drills have been held, there is a need for more regularly scheduled drills and an emergency contingency plan. The monitors also said a modernized fire suppression system supplying all housing units is still needed, along with life safety equipment for all staff and inmates and additional training as requested by staff.
Corrections Director Julius C. Wilson said he is awaiting a final assessment and report from the agency’s consultant.
The monitor said that he was encouraged by the agency’s participation in the process to develop the policies to date and that he was further encouraged by the changes in the GGACF’s leadership’s approach to dealing with deliverables and holding staff accountable, as well as a proactive change in attitude from "why we can’t" to "how can we."
According to the bureau, the additional remedial relief outlined in the order includes:
– The monitoring team will create a new schedule for policy development, training and implementation required by the settlement agreement, including dates for submission of draft documents and approval from the territory, and submit that schedule to the court no later than Oct. 17;
– The schedule of dates submitted by the monitoring team to the court will be entered as an order of the court, subject to judicial enforcement;
– The monitoring team will draft all of the security policies required by the agreement, with consultation from the Bureau of Corrections, in accordance with the schedule submitted to the court. The monitoring team will submit those policies to the bureau for review and finalization; and the bureau will submit the policies to the United States for review in accordance with the settlement agreement;
– and the medical and mental health policies will continue to be formulated by Golden Grove staff, in consultation with the medical and mental health monitoring team members, and will be submitted to the United States for review in accordance with the schedule set by the monitoring team.
Additionally the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion for an order to show cause as to why the bureau and the territory should not be held in contempt. The parties’ were able to reach agreement on the issues raised in the motion and the necessary relief to be ordered by the court prior to Thursday’s hearing.
The monitoring team’s next scheduled site visit will be held in December.
