DC Attorney General Karl Racine voiced his opinion’s regarding the conditions in the Jail in a piece recently published in the Washington Post. He writes:
“Recent reports of squalid conditions in D.C. jail are unfortunately not new. But they should finally serve as a clarion call to D.C. leaders to take bold action. Instead of making modest improvements to our crumbling jail, D.C. must use this moment to take a different approach — one that reduces harm, advances public safety and recognizes the human dignity of the individuals who are detained.”
“Lack of money is not the reason these problems persist. There is a lack of will and leadership — and it comes from the top. Budgets are moral documents. Surely a city that can find $60 million to build a gleaming new sports arena that will increase the wealth of the rich can ensure the mostly Black and Brown people we incarcerate in our local jail have access to basic sanitary conditions in confinement.”