MYNORTHWEST NEWS

WA juvenile detention reforms solitary confinement practices upon settling lawsuit

Jul 29, 2022, 9:41 AM

solitary confinement cell...

(John Doman / MediaNews Group / St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)

(John Doman / MediaNews Group / St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)

Columbia Legal Services has reached a $102,000 settlement in its lawsuit against the Department of Children, Youth and Family (DCYF) for detaining three teens in solitary confinement, depriving them of food, water, sleep, and access to bathrooms.

As a result of the lawsuit, DCYF is changing its policy on sending youth to solitary confinement, looking to minimize its uses in youth detention facilities by requiring stricter standards for its use as a punishment.

In 2018, Michael Rogers, then 17 years old, was forced into a Chehalis cell of an adult jail, isolated for months, for refusing to verbally consent to a strip search. In response to the treatment, he and two others filed a lawsuit for the “inhumane treatment.”

AG Ferguson looks to end solitary confinement for juveniles

This wasn’t the first time that Rodgers and the other boys, Damien Rivera and Ron Ackerson, have faced solitary confinement. On multiple occasions, they have been locked up in solitary, hands bound behind their backs, unable to eat, drink, or sleep for hours. Sentenced to nine years for their involvement in the robbery and murder of another teen, Wesley Gennings, Rodgers was sent to Green Hill School, a youth prison in Chehalis where they were repeatedly subject to solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement has repeatedly been shown to have serious long-term effects on prisoners, and the American Civil Liberties Union has decried its use on minors because of its impacts on their ability to reintegrate into society.

“Because their brains are still developing, children are highly susceptible to the prolonged psychological stress that comes from being isolated in prisons and jails,” Amy Roe, a senior writer for the ACLU said. “This stress can inhibit the development of parts of the brain—such as the pre-frontal cortex, which governs impulse control— causing irreparable damage. In other words, children subjected to solitary confinement are forced into a hole so deep they may never be able to climb out.”

“I’m happy that they are changing stuff so that no one has to go through the traumatic experience of being locked up in handcuffs and dealing with all that because it affects your psychology and your brain and everything,” said plaintiff Damien Rivera of the lawsuit’s outcome.

In addition to the damages awarded for the psychological torment undergone by the teens, the lawsuit also stipulates that the DCYF would work with Columbia Legal Services (CLS) to create new policies around strip searches and refusals. They have also changed the rules so that isolation and restraints cannot be used against youth for refusing a strip search unless there is a “specific, credible, ongoing threat to safety with no other way to resolve it.”

Youth who have been treated cruelly need a better answer from their caretakers than ‘This is just how things are done,’” said Sarah Nagy, a CLS attorney for the plaintiffs. “Because of these young men, the youth who move through the system after them will have protection they didn’t have.” 

 

MyNorthwest News

Image: The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions and Po...

Steve Coogan

Lottery jackpots update: Powerball prize up for grabs after $1.1B Mega Millions ticket sold

A lottery jackpots update: The Powerball prize reached an estimated $865 million ahead of Wednesday night's drawing.

7 hours ago

Photo: The Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center....

James Lynch

King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

The King County Law and Justice Committee received a final report on Executive Dow Constantine's plan to close a youth detention center.

9 hours ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

11 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

11 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

11 hours ago

Image: A Tacoma teen was shot outside her Tacoma Hilltop area apartment over the weekend....

Heather Bosch

Estranged boyfriend suspected in Tacoma teen’s death turns himself in

We're learning more about the man who's accused of fatally shooting a teenager outside her Tacoma Hill Top area apartment over the weekend.

12 hours ago

WA juvenile detention reforms solitary confinement practices upon settling lawsuit