S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Cells filled with trash , overflowing toilets and infestations. A 32 page filing against San Diego County and the sheriff's office outlines horrid conditions inside solitary confinement. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Solitary confinement is the focus of a class action lawsuit against San Diego County and the sheriff's office. More than a dozen people housed in San Diego jails describe inhumane treatment. The details are in a recent UT article written by watchdog reporters Jeff McDonald and Kelly Davis , who both join me now. Welcome to you both.
S2: Thank you. Hi.
S1: Hi. So , okay , I want to jump right into this reporting because , Jeff , more than a dozen people are outlined in this lawsuit.
S3: Uh , our records show 23 plus hours a day. Uh , so they have a very limited human contact and , uh , no access to , uh , programming , educational services , mental health therapy. Uh , and , uh , you know , that can exacerbate their existing conditions. The sheriff's office says this , uh , isolation is reserved for people who need protection from themselves and others. Uh , excuse me. So that others would be protected from them. Uh , but there are hundreds of people in this in this , uh , uh , housing status that , uh , that again , have , uh , not had access to sunlight or fresh air or human contact. Uh , one guy. We read the declaration from had four years in what the sheriff calls administrative separation. Hmm.
S2: Hmm. Yeah. Just so these these cells are tiny. I mean , there's 70 to 75ft² , and I've stood in one of them. I got a tour of the jail a few years ago , and I stood in one of these cells for several minutes , and I can't imagine having to spend much longer in there. Right.
S1: Right. You the. Your article also mentions unsanitary conditions. Can you tell me about that ? Yeah.
S2: Multiple people describe just , um , there's no , um , they're not really given tools to to clean or the products cleaning products to clean. Their cells take out the trash. And so trash will collect. And there are a lot of problems with , uh , with insects , vermin , just various infestations , um , uh , you know , and then you've got people who , you know , with untreated mental illness , who will smear food and feces on the walls and that kind of , um , you know , the the whole unit starts smelling pretty bad. Uh , toilets back up a lot and flood into cells and flood into adjoining cells. Mm.
S1: Mm.
S2: You know , a person like Jeff said can be too dangerous to be housed with others. Or they could be too vulnerable to be , um , housed with others. Um , they could be placed in isolation for , for disciplinary reasons. Um , or what the policy says they could be placed there for being disruptive. And so there's a concern that people with mental illness who maybe aren't taking or they're refusing to take their medication. You know , these are the most difficult cases. Uh , they end up in isolation , um , for , for just , you know , not being able to follow , follow the rules. And it's because they're just not not in the right minds. And then people with a history of being in isolation , if they're incarcerated , that kind of follows them and they'll they'll be put back in isolation. Um , you know , so , so , uh , if even if they're not exhibiting behaviors that that would , would trigger isolation cells. It's almost like , um , you know , we heard and we saw this in many declarations. It's like they don't they don't know why they're there. And they they're not sure when when they're going to get out.
S1: Well , Jeff , you mentioned someone spent four years in jail and in effect , solitary confinement. Um , and typically people spend just under a year in jail , as I understand it. And for longer term incarceration , that time is spent in prison.
S3: They're , uh , uh , you know , being held for. Uh , so the dates get. The trial dates get continued. The lawyers , uh , you know , ask for continuances. Sometimes their own behavior necessitates things like , um , uh , incompetency hearings , uh , and they get sent to a state hospital for some months. Uh , and then they get sent back to confront the same charges. So a long time can lapse , uh , between the time they're arrested and booked into custody , uh , and the time they actually stand trial for what they're accused of.
S2: And if I could jump in for a second. And then there was a state law passed. Um , I can't remember when , um , maybe a decade or so ago that , um , people with low level , um , like , nonviolent crimes can be held in county jails for up to ten years. Um , instead of being transferred , it was to address prison overcrowding. So we are seeing people who who will be , you know , who are sentenced to , to , um , you know , few to several years in county jail.
S1: And then there are some people who are again are just waiting for a trial date , not not actually charged or convicted of anything. And then in effect , being thrown in isolation. Is is am I to understand that right ? Yes.
S2: Yeah. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , Jeff , let's talk about this preliminary injunction that was just filed in federal court.
S3: Uh , and also providing mental health treatment , uh , effective mental health treatment. Uh , right now , the mental health services that these detainees receive is , uh , scattershot. I think , uh , you know , most charitably described , uh , you know , where it's at the cell front door and there's a deputy standing right nearby so the detainees don't feel comfortable , you know , talking to a therapist when there's a deputy with a body worn camera on him. Uh , so that that those sessions are not , uh , not helpful. What the what ? The lawsuit , uh , what the motion is asking for is the judge to prevent the sheriff's office from so broadly , uh , uh , employing this , uh , you know , administrative separation , uh , we know that it's hundreds of people. Uh , and they go in and out and , uh , we'll see what happens under , uh , state rules and even the county policy , they're only supposed to be held up to ten days. Uh , and , uh. Oh. Excuse me. Uh , not ten days. Uh , ten hours of , uh , of outside the cell time every , uh , every week. And , uh , we know from the declarations they're not getting that. So , you know , we'll be seeing what what the judge says. And , uh , you know , they put forward a pretty compelling argument. The county will respond , uh , in writing before the hearing next month , and then the judge will make a decision. All of this should be noted , comes a couple of months ahead of the trial , which is we don't have a date , but it's early next year , so we think January. So we'll see what what happens.
S1: Well , Kelly , you kind of touched on this. But in general , what are some of the documented health risks associated with spending time in isolation ? Yeah.
S2: And so this is an area of correctional health care , mental health care that's received a lot of attention over the years. Um , just looking at how damaging it could be to keep a person in isolation , it increases the risk of suicide. Um , extended time and solitary confinement. It could actually shorten a person's life , um , even two weeks in isolation. This is a research study I pulled up earlier this morning. Um , two weeks in isolation can elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease. Um , and people who submitted declarations , um , in this this lawsuit , they talked about suffering from depression , anxiety , having hallucinations , and just the the lack of human contact. Um , you know , research also shows that the part of the brain that that plays a major role in memory. Um , it starts to physically shrink after after periods , uh , without human interaction. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And according to your reporting , fewer than half of those in administrative separation or solitary confinement confinement actually have a serious mental illness.
S2: Um , you know , looking looking back at my notes since 2022 , at least two by suicide , five from , um , alleged medical neglect. Um , you know , it really exacerbates symptoms. We've we've heard , like I said , stories of people and cells covered in feces and discarded food. Um , we've heard stories about people who've been sent to a state psychiatric hospital and actually gotten gotten treatment. They were doing well. Then they returned to jail. They were placed in isolation. They get worse. They go back to where they were. Um , it's just the worst possible way to house someone with mental illness. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And in your article , uh , I saw a photo of one of those cells. Those isolation cells and all of the the clutter and the trash that was in there. It was an actual. It was just it was horrific to see. And I could only imagine how that may impact someone's mental health. Um , yeah. Yeah. Jeff , you have so many stories included in this piece. One of them is from Oury Bacon Jr , who described a year in administrative separation.
S3: It was horrible. Uh , he , uh , he was in , uh , isolation , uh , in a number of county jails , a couple , three and then , uh , you know , decompensated. He he was one of the people Kelly just mentioned that , uh , you know , was sent back to the state hospital , started , uh , I don't want to say recovering , but started improving , uh , over some months. And then he was returned to San Diego County Jail to , uh , face charges and get the criminal proceedings. Uh , you know , jump started and he was put back in administrative separation and , uh , you know , just bemoans the fact that , you know , the place is intolerable. It stinks. People scream randomly all the time. Uh , it's filthy. It smells bad. Uh , he testified that he doesn't receive any programming , any educational services , uh , no mental health services. And he reported that , uh , even when he is let out of his cell , he's put into a , uh , you know , a cage at George Bailey that's in the common area , and that has access to the showers and telephones. Uh , and even then , he's not out. He's in a larger cage. Uh , and so it's obviously wreaking havoc with his mental health and , uh , you know , not contributing to his well-being. Uh , so , you know , this is why the , uh , the plaintiff's lawyers want this kind of , um , housing to be , uh , you know , restricted by the court.
S1: We're going to take a short break , but stay with us as we continue our conversation about a new lawsuit alleging horrid conditions inside solitary confinement. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. Right now , we are discussing a new filing outlining inhumane conditions in solitary confinement in San Diego jails. I'm joined by Jeff McDonald and Kelly Davis. They're both on the watchdog team at the San Diego Union-Tribune , and they've been covering this. Kelly , I'll start with you. The sheriff's office said it would start performing wellness checks after Lonnie Rupert died from neglect in a solitary confinement cell three years ago. I'm curious to know what's come of those wellness checks.
S2: Yeah , so ? So , Mr. Rupert , like you said , died. Um , it was March 2022 , and he was , uh , seriously mentally ill. He was held in isolation and , um , lost after , you know , his his autopsy report , um , found that he had lost £60 in three months , and he died from malnutrition , dehydration and pneumonia. And it was ruled a homicide due to neglect. And so , after his death , the sheriff's department announced the creation of. They called a like a multidisciplinary team that would be doing these rounds that they called wellness checks to make sure that people held in isolation were okay. Um , but what we're seeing from these declarations , and what I've heard from people who've been in jail and held in isolation , is that the wellness checks , it's really just a deputy and a mental health clinic clinician , and they're making a quick stop at each cell. Um , all communication is done through the cell's food flap , which is , you know , big enough to slide a food tray through. And really , the question the person is asked is , are you feeling suicidal ? You know , this is this is reflected in the declarations. And like , I've talked to people who've been in that position and they're like , that's all I'm asked. And , you know , there's a deputy standing right there. And so if the person is feeling , you know , they're not , they're not likely to to open up and talk about how they really feel because there's there's just no no privacy there. Yeah. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , Jeff , you know , the backdrop of all this is the Dunsmore lawsuit , which dates back to 2020. It was expanded into a class action lawsuit in 2023. What changes , if any , have come out of that case ? Uh , Jeff , I think you're muted. All right. Well , Kelly.
S3: Uh , sorry about that. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. All right.
S3: Uh , what what changes have come. Well , listen , that case has been , uh , litigated , like you said , in five years in. They did win a concession. The plaintiffs , um , last year regarding Ada , uh , and infrastructure. So that includes , um , more mobility for people who who can't. I mean , more access for people who lack mobility or lack , lack , you know , hearing or whatnot. And that can include things like , uh , sign language interpreters or other interpreters for , like deaf deaf people when they're talking to their doctor or , or whatnot. So the sheriff , uh , agreed to implement that. Uh , and that's going to cost some money because I have to redesign some of the facilities and , you know , upgrade them. That's a long standing plan of the sheriff. But the big the big issues that odds remain , uh , medical and mental health care. And that's what they've been unable to resolve outside trial. So that's why I think they're headed to trial early next year.
S1: Also , in your reporting , you include the account of Larry Mallette , who spent more than six months in an isolation unit.
S3: Yeah , he's a good case study. Um , uh , he described his extreme claustrophobia. Uh , he's still struggling. He says , from the effects of being in isolation so long , uh , things like , uh , physical chest pains , uh , mental stress. Uh , interestingly , he's one of the few declarant who said he was provided access to confidential mental health care , and when he was able to access that , he improved noticeably , he said. But then , of course , that that didn't persist. And he's no longer able to always access confidential mental health care. So he's decompensated a bit. He's witnessed suicide attempts. And , you know , he's haunted by his experience in , uh , in administrative separation. So , yeah , he was an interesting case study.
S1: Uh , something else striking , uh , were the two very gruesome deaths that happened in isolation earlier this year in July. It was Corey Dean and Kareem Talib , and they died just two weeks apart.
S3: Yeah.
S4: Yeah. Go ahead. Kelly.
S3: Kelly.
S2: Um , sure. Yeah , I could start. You could jump in. Um , yeah. So both of them , um , one was at the Vista jail. Um , Corey Dean and then , um , Mr. Talib was at the Central jail. Both were held in isolation. We know Corey Dean suffered from from serious mental illness. Mr. Talib , we're not sure. We think maybe cognitive decline , but they're both in need of a higher level of care. Um , and what we know so much about their deaths , because the the attorneys in this case were able to go into the units. They were these men were housed in and take declarations from people in nearby cells. And they describe , um , you know , both stories are just so eerily similar. Just how how , um , it was clear that that both men needed , needed medical attention. You know , Corey Dean was calling out for days , pounding on the walls of his cell , um , asking for help. Um , Mr. Talib was was in a diaper that , um , had become so full of feces that it was slipping down. Um , one one man described um , and people were other other , um , uh , folks in these units were trying to get attention from the deputies , you know , trying to get medical to , to come down and check on them. Um , we're not sure the exact cause of death yet , but , um , uh , yeah , both of them. Um , it's it's we're not sure you know , what happened , but both were found unresponsive in their cells.
S4: Well , listen.
S3: It's even worse than that. In Mr. Dean's case , they , uh , they called his sister and told him that he died a natural death. Uh , and then she read our story a few days later and was just horrified , uh , in her testimony in the declaration , says that , uh , her first thought was , oh , my gosh , if I , if our parents see this story , it'll it'll break them. Uh , so reading declarations like that are just wrenching. I mean , the the stories and the deaths are bad enough , but then when they misconstrue what happened and we don't learn the details until we talk to witnesses and , uh. Man , it's just , uh , it's just difficult to report , let alone , uh , you know , I can't imagine what it's like seeing it. Right.
S1: Right. Well , and I know that the county has filed a lawsuit against the health care providers for the jail.
S2: So. So , yeah. So there's definitely been a really close eye on , um , on what , what's um , you know , just kind of getting the full the full picture of of the lapses in care. Mhm.
S1: Mhm.
S3: And I think the hearing date is somewhere in the second half of November. So 3 or 4 weeks from now. Uh , and the judge will make a decision on that right away. Uh , you know , within some days , I would think it's federal court. So , you know , it could be longer , but , you know , it's entirely up to the judge's discretion. So if there's an injunction approved , then , you know , supposedly , uh , unexpectedly , the sheriff would cease and desist. Uh , you know , these long term isolation , uh , housing situations , uh , more broadly than that , the case is going to trial. It looks like , uh , you know , in 2 or 3 months. Uh , and that'll be , uh , you know , really interesting to see how that unfolds. Uh , how vigorous the county will , uh , you know , defend itself. And , uh , you know , what kind of changes the court might impose if , uh , you know , a jury finds , uh , in favor of the plaintiffs.
S1: Well , these are ongoing chronic issues that I know you all will be reporting on , and we'll continue to follow that. I've been speaking with Jeff McDonald and Kelly Davis , both on the watchdog team at the San Diego Union-Tribune. Thank you both so much for joining us today.
S2: Thank you. Jade.
S4: Jade. Hey.
S3: Hey. Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
