By Tony Saavedra
The Orange County Register
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — A lengthy federal investigation into the Orange County jail system, triggered by the October 2006 murder of inmate John Derek Chamberlain, has ended with major upgrades in service, Sheriff Don Barnes announced Tuesday.
The 11-year probe by the U.S. Department of Justice began in 2008 after inmates at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange ganged up on Chamberlain, who they mistakenly believed was incarcerated for child molestation, and beat him to death while a deputy sat in a nearby guard station watching “Cops” on television. Chamberlain was awaiting trial for alleged possession of child pornography.
The probe ended with extensive improvements to the jail system, including greater access to recreation and programs to help inmates succeed upon release; improved services for the mentally ill and drug addicted, including detoxification units with access to medically assisted treatment; and more robust reentry programs to help released inmates stay out of jail, said a statement by Barnes.
He also pointed to a special housing module for military veterans, programs to curb the influx of drugs in the jails, and the elimination of nighttime releases, which can be dangerous for women and other inmates.
‘Tremendous work’
“The announcement ending the investigation speaks to the tremendous work that has been accomplished by custody staff of both our department and the Orange County Health Care Agency,” Barnes said. “The conclusion of the Department of Justice’s investigation further demonstrates that our jail system is one that meets our responsibility to provide necessary care and protection to inmates incarcerated within Orange County Jails.”
A terse, three-paragraph letter from the Department of Justice made no mention of any ongoing federal oversight or conditions, merely stating, “we appreciate the county’s cooperation with our investigation, as well as the completed, ongoing and planned improvements to the jail.”
The Department of Justice still has an open civil rights investigation into Orange County’s “snitch scandal” —the use by prosecutors and deputies of jailhouse informants to get confessions from inmates, in violation of their right to counsel. The civil rights probe also is looking into the withholding of evidence pertaining to those informants.
Barnes’ announcement Tuesday at the end of the Chamberlain-inspired investigation comes at a time when Orange County’s jail system is under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California for what it said are squalid conditions, lack of medical care, the inhumane handling of inmates and the unexplained, in-custody deaths.
ACLU: Things are worse
According to the ACLU’s 2017 jail report, not much has changed since inmates at Theo Lacy — saying they were encouraged by deputies — stomped and beat Chamberlain to death. An Orange County grand jury investigation into the Chamberlain killing found a jail atmosphere in which deputies slept on duty, played video games, failed to make their rounds and used jailhouse bullies as enforcers.
A weeklong escape by three inmates in 2016 at the main jail in Santa Ana highlighted some of the same problems as years before — deputies failing to make security checks and supervisors allowing some areas to go unwatched.
Such episodes may have been the reason that the federal investigation stayed open as long as it did. Former Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, before retiring in January, talked about how federal jail investigators were interested in what has become an ineffective watchdog for the department, the Office of Independent Review, which sits empty.
“If anything, things have gotten worse,” said Daisy Ramirez, the Orange County jail specialist with the ACLU. “I’m in complete disbelief … there’s a long list of different misconduct … shackling (in the courthouse), deputies failing to book evidence. All of this together makes it shocking to me the DOJ thinks it’s an appropriate time to close their investigation.”
Said Ramirez: “There’s not any oversight.”
Barnes wrote that he met with the DOJ in February and engaged other collaborators, including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National Institute of Corrections, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“As a result of this collaborative approach, focused on identifying and implementing solutions, our jails are a better and safer place for those entrusted to our care, our staff and those visiting our jails,” Barnes said.
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©2019 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.)