Photo by AlbinoFleaD.C. Department of Corrections is relocating nearly 200 D.C. Jail prisoners as the heat persists, sources tell NBC 4.
The breakdown is 82 inmates moved to other cell blocks within the jail, 95 to the Correctional Treatment Facility next door, and 20 facing federal charges to a different facility, according to NBC4. DOC has not responded to a request for comment.
DOC has been “working closely with the Department of General Services on system improvements to address temperatures in the D.C. Jail. An HVAC contractor has been on site and completing work to enhance the airflow and circulation systems,” per a statement from the agency last week.
Amidst the sweltering heat, 70-year-old inmate Lester Irby died last week, though DOC maintains there is “no reason to believe that there is a correlation between elevated temperatures and this inmate’s death.” The results of an autopsy are pending.
Following Irby’s death, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie renewed his calls for a new correctional facility. Washington Lawyers Committee detailed “active infestation of vermin/pests,” crumbling infrastructure, mold growth, and a leaking roof at the aging jail in a report last year.
Inmates aren’t the only ones complaining about the heat. The Washington Post reports that the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee representing correctional officers is planning on filing a formal complaint over the conditions.
Rachel Kurzius