Natl: Indian Jails in Bad Shape

Investigators and auditors from the Interior Department told a Senate panel in June that potentially life-threatening conditions at many of the 74 detention centers on Indian reservations pose dangers to prisoners and guards alike. Federal investigators say the Bureau of Indian Affairs should immediately take steps to turn around a poorly managed Indian prison.

Figures from 2002 (the latest available) show that the 74 detention centers held 1,699 adults and 307 juveniles. Investigators catalogued 209 suicide attempts and 413 escapes at the 27 prisons they visited. They also found five prisoner deaths by suicide and another five attributed to medical problems such as seizures, appendicitis and alcohol poisoning. One of the deaths was that of Cindy Gilber Sohappy, a 16-year-old who died on December 6th of alcohol poisoning three hours after she was placed in a holding cell attached to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. The U.S. attorney’s office in Portland is investigating the case.

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), said the problems, especially the many suicide attempts, were worse than he imagined. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) said: “I’m fearful we have an epidemic. BIA really needs to get on top of this.” And Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said: “I’ve sat through many hearings, and this is one of the most depressing.”

Source: The Washington Post