OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – On Monday, the Oklahoma Legal Justice Authority, often known as the jail belief, met for the primary time for the reason that Oklahoma State Division of Well being barred them from housing juveniles following a latest inspection.
“Now we have juveniles who’ve cited they haven’t seen or heard employees members of their pod in a complete day,” Frances Ekwerekwu, a trustee on the Oklahoma County jail belief, stated.
That’s simply one of many 35 deficiencies listed in an OSDH inspection report that was despatched to the Oklahoma County Jail final week, barring them from housing juvenile inmates.
A number of the different “repeat deficiencies” listed within the report embrace inmates not being fed 3 times a day, emergency telephones that don’t work, overcrowding within the cells and an absence of medical and psychological well being screenings.
“It is simply form of actually sickening to see all of it on paper and my ideas are, we have to get to work,” Ekwerekwu stated.
That’s why Ekwerekwu requested to listen to from Greg Williams, jail administrator, about these ongoing points at Monday’s jail belief assembly.
“By way of the OSDH report, there’s a whole lot of discuss sight checks the place we want to see that individuals are nonetheless dwelling,” Ekwerekwu stated to Williams. “What do you say to that? What are you doing to treatment this?”
“We’re recruiting employees and coaching employees, new staff that can do sight checks,” stated Williams. “We’ve been capable of recruit seven individuals into that job class.”
Juveniles who’re charged with Homicide 1 are nonetheless being housed on the jail proper now. There are at the moment 12 of them in there as of final week.
Nevertheless, a brand new state legislation that goes into impact in November might change that.
“There needs to be a stage of statement and talent for juvenile detainees to achieve out to employees members to be heard and seen and to be heard and seen by employees members and for them to see and listen to employees members in jail,” Ekwerekwu instructed Information 4.
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Williams instructed members of the belief throughout Monday’s assembly that isn’t actually potential with their present facility.
So, the belief’s authorized counsel is engaged on getting authorized opinions in regards to the matter.
“With that stated and together with the latest well being division suggestions, I totally consider that we don’t should be housing anybody below the age of 18 at our jail,” Ekwerekwu stated.
