Media

Federal Court Judge Lifts Contempt Charges In Light Of Jail Improvements

Release Date: June 17, 2005

United States District Judge Jon McCalla lifted contempt charges yesterday against the Sheriff and Shelby County Government that were filed six years ago.

“Removing the Shelby County Jail from the contempt charge was a priority for me as Sheriff. The compliance team has shown tremendous leadership in making sweeping changes that affect the safety of every inmate and every staff person at the jail. It’s seldom that you enter into an undertaking with adversaries and eventually work so closely as a team for the good of everyone involved. I applaud the efforts of Mr. Robert Hutton, the plaintiff’s attorney and Mr. Chuck Fisher, the court-appointed Special Master, who have both have guided and helped direct our efforts,” said Shelby County Sheriff Mark H. Luttrell, Jr.

In the Federal Court Order, Judge McCalla said, “Shelby County has achieved constitutional compliance not through adherence to symptom-based remedial provisions, but rather through a focused, systemic and information-driven structural reform based on critical expert assessment of essential institutional functions.”

Dr. Jeffrey A. Schwartz, an expert on corrections that testified during the Federal Court proceedings, said, “The Shelby County Jail had a twenty year history of the abysmal leadership, mismanagement…lack of staff training. These factors produced an overcrowded jail that was dangerous for inmates and staff alike, a jail in which the living units were largely controlled by gangs and in which assaults, rapes, stabbings, escapes and suicides were relatively commonplace events.”

As background, on September 27, 1995, Shelby County Jail inmate Darious Little was raped by three gang members who were also incarcerated in the jail. No guard was present to prevent Little from being raped.

Little filed suit against the Sheriff and Shelby County Government in May of 1996. Then Federal Judge Jerome Turner ordered in November, 1997, and again in November, 1999, that changes be made in the security standards at the jail. A Special Master was appointed by the court to monitor jail operations.

Yet in June, 2000, contempt charges were filed against Shelby County Government for not implementing the court-ordered improvements.

Hearings continued with little progress being made to correct the violations. Then, in the fall of 2002, newly elected Sheriff Mark H. Luttrell, Jr. began an aggressive initiative to correct the life-safety violations.

In 2002, a 14-point jail-improvement plan was a created that involved:

• Direct supervision of inmates by jail staff

• The creation of a population management system to monitor inmate levels

• The implementation of a comprehensive data collection system that tracked jail incidents and staff accountability

• An improved classification system that housed prisoners in cells with others of similar charges

• Documenting and monitoring of gang activity in the jail

• Revising inmate disciplinary actions and aggressive prosecution of those who assault inmates or staff

• A “Disturbance Response Team” (D.R.T.) was established to enhance the safety of inmates and staff

• Ensuring inmates received the proper medical, food, counseling and other services

• A grievance procedure was created and monitored to address inmate complaints

• Continual security and life-safety training for the jail staff

• Improvements in the overall security of the jail

• An effort was begun to have the jail’s operational standards meet national standards (Currently underway for all areas—the Medical Unit has met those standards). The jail, for the first time in more than a decade, received State of Tennessee Certification in January, 2004.

• Development of programs to enhance inmate knowledge to reduce idleness in the jail

• Ensuring direct leadership and oversight of the improvements plan from the Sheriff and the compliance team

 

In his closing comments, Judge McCalla said, “Today the jail is a safer institution for both inmates and staff; violence and gang activity within the jail have been brought under control…the Defendants have taken all responsible steps within their power to fashion an effective remedy and implement that remedy.

It is by this creative and determined approach that Sheriff Luttrell and Shelby County have marshaled their resources, purged themselves of contempt, and achieved constitutional compliance.”

 

^ Return to Top