Legislature(2015 - 2016)ANCH LIO AUDITORIUM
12/08/2015 10:30 AM House JUDICIARY
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| Legislative Presentation: Overview of the Department of Corrections Administrative Review | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
December 8, 2015
10:37 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE JUDICIARY
Senator Lesil McGuire, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Bill Wielechowski
HOUSE JUDICIARY
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Charisse Millett - on teleconference
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Max Gruenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE JUDICIARY
All members Present
HOUSE JUDICIARY
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Kurt Olson
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Bryce Edgmon
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION: OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DEAN WILLIAMS, "Special Assistant
Office of the Governor
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Stated that several months ago the governor
asked him to be involved in the Department of Corrections (DOC)
policy review.
JOE HANLON, retired FBI Agent
Office of the Governor)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Said he became involved in the DOC policy
review when Mr. Williams asked him to be part of it.
KHANESIA MOSLEY
No address stated
POSITION STATEMENT: Mr. Mosley's mother who said she wanted
Davon's truth to be told. She appreciated the work they had done
and what the governor is doing.
VERNESIA GORDON
No address stated
POSITION STATEMENT: Mr. Mosely's girlfriend who thanked god for
justice.
ACTING COMMISSIONER MONEGAN
Department of Corrections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on changing DOC policy and prison
culture.
LAURA BROOKS
Health Care Administrator
Department of Corrections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on health care issues in the DOC.
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:37:57 AM
CHAIR LESIL MCGUIRE called the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Judiciary Standing Committees to order at 10:37 a.m.
Present at the call to order were Senators Micciche, Costello,
Coghill, Wielechowski, and Chair McGuire.
CHAIR GARIELLE LEDOUX announced that Representatives Keller,
Claman, Millett (teleconference), and Lynn were present.
^Legislative Presentation: Overview of the Department of
Corrections Administrative Review
Legislative Presentation: Overview of the Department of
Corrections Administrative Review
10:38:54 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the Department of Corrections (DOC) report is
lengthy and was synthesized for today's presentation. The number
of deaths in Alaska's prison system, even though Alaska doesn't
have a death penalty, is what launched concerns: one being that
Alaskans are often imprisoned before trial and haven't had their
day in court. Today they would hear from Dean Williams and Joe
Hanlon who Governor Walker tasked with an investigation of the
DOC over the last few months. The report is a summary of their
work and it is a matter of public record on the Judiciary
website.
She said there had been many attempts to partner with the
department and she is grateful to the administration for its
cooperation. It is an example of how government can work for the
people. Everyone's intentions are good, but Davon Mosley's death
means that something needs to be done quickly, and in a non-
partisan way.
10:41:44 AM
She said this is not just about inmate safety, but access to
training and safety behind bars for the men and women who chose
to dedicate their lives serving as corrections officers, parole
officers, and health staff inside these facilities, as well. She
hoped the wrongs that came out of this report could be
rectified.
CHAIR LEDOUX announced Representative Gruenberg's presence and
thanked the governor, Mr. Hanlon and Mr. Williams for doing this
investigation. She stated that legislators want to figure out
what is wrong with the prison culture and fix it without blaming
anyone.
10:45:10 AM
DEAN WILLIAMS, "Special Assistant, Office of the Governor,
Anchorage, Alaska, introduced himself and stated that several
months ago the governor asked him to be involved in this review.
JOE HANLON, retired FBI Agent, Office of the Governor),
Anchorage, Alaska, introduced himself and said he became
involved in this review when Mr. Williams asked him to be part
of it. He was assured that the review was going to be based on
facts and circumstances and that they would have unfettered
access to whatever was needed.
10:47:36 AM
MR. WILLIAMS said the truth is a good place to start and nothing
will deter them from doing that to the best extent possible.
Finding troubling facts tests one's resolve. However, the bottom
line is that they are here, because the governor believes in the
truth. He has not flinched from this resolve. The facts are
important so that change can happen. Today they will present
their findings and pictures of four disturbing deaths in the
Alaska corrections system.
He also announced that after today's hearing the governor will
release two video sequences involving the deaths of Davon Mosley
and Gilbert Joseph. It was the governor's intention all along to
release certain videos to the media once the families had been
fully briefed. Two will be released today and the other two
after the families are debriefed. When he started this journey,
a close friend told him he was doing work referenced in Micah
6:8, which says: "Seek Justice, love mercy and walk humbly with
God."
10:50:25 AM
MR. WILLIAMS said the review lasted 12 weeks, a heavy lift, and
they are still getting feedback from correctional officers,
staff and inmates. The process has been started and he hears
from them every day.
10:51:23 AM
MR. HANLON said the department has over 200 public policies and
23 more restricted policies for security and safety, but
surprisingly some of them had not been revisited since the
1980s. Prison reform is a nationwide issue and policies should
be reviewed every year or two for current best practices in
prison operations and new case law that is being established in
cases all over the country.
MR. WILLIAMS said one of the policies of concern is suicide
prevention, which is 20 years old. It is a problem in running
any large organization. Their report talked about facility
structure, one of his areas of expertise, as he had run ran
McLaughlin and a Nome facility. The command structure is also
important and he advised taking a healthy look at it. Right now
superintendents oversee their managers, their admin staff,
including correction officers, their cooks, their maintenance
people, but do not directly supervise most of their medical or
mental health staff - kind of a bi-furcated system. Those staff
report directly to the DOC state office.
He explained that from his own experience, he would find it
difficult to supervise unless he had complete control: authority
and supervision of everyone in his building. Some of the
accumulated problems have are blurred lines of responsibility
that sometimes cause a problem when things are going well, too.
Many superintendents have made the divided command structure
work, because in smaller communities, it's less of a problem.
To be fair, he said, everyone in corrections wants to cooperate
and get along. It is not an attitude problem, it's just that the
structure of divided command has issues.
10:54:59 AM
MR. WILLIAMS said that many reform efforts around the country,
including the federal prisons, have worked very hard to reduce
solitary confinement or as DOC refers to it, segregation. He had
a high level of concern when he found that four juveniles who
had been in solitary for 11 months. These four had escaped from
the Kenai youth facility and had not seriously assaulted a
staff. Solitary confinement for 11 months is problematic even
for adults. So, he has challenged DOC is to start getting in
line with other states and federal prisons that are reducing
solitary confinement. Colorado has reduced solitary confinement
to almost zero. It should be "absolutely the last resort" and
clearly articulated for safety and security reasons at the
highest level.
MR. WILLIAMS said that internal investigation is another big
issue: you can't fix anything unless it can be investigated to
find out what is wrong. This is one of the most profound areas
that needs addressing. They have plans: a short term plan for
the next six months and a long term plan that he would oversee
from the governor's office of a standup agency to see that all
law enforcement entities in the state do internal
investigations. He emphasized that the ability to fact-find is
critical, especially for agencies that have such high authority
and control over the people in a closed prison system.
Two of their reviewed cases are about two individuals who died
in on Title 47 protective custody; they hadn't even been charged
with a crime! They actually died during the course of his and
Mr. Hanlon doing the review, which actually helped the review
because they were able to investigate how things happened and
what the outflow of the bad events were.
10:58:36 AM
His point is that right now intoxicated individuals who have not
been charged with a crime are ending up in jail in protective
custody. Even in that case, there has been confusion in the
department about what Title 47 says. It has become a minimum 12
hours when it's really supposed to be a maximum. The minute
someone sobers up or a family member comes by to get you, you're
supposed to be released. Even under current statute there seems
to be confusion about what it says. He encouraged them to work
on this, because it's a win/win all the way around. It is the
bane of liability for all the prisons. He pointed out that this
statute was changed in the juvenile arena about 15 years ago.
MR. WILLIAMS said in Fairbanks the average of 510 people for
returning under Title 47 protective custody is 3.5 times in one
year. One case came back 73 times. However, numbers have dropped
dramatically in some places like Bethel, where progress is being
made with detox centers. His whole point is that they are
putting high risk, medically-unstable people in prison cells
that have other medically unstable people, and things go wrong
in these places.
11:01:46 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if his figures were per annum.
MR. WILLIAM answered yes. In 2014, if you were one of the 510
that came into the Fairbanks facility, you would return 3.5
times on average in one year.
MR. HANLON pointed out in the Gilbert case, it was his 8th visit
in one month on a Title 47 hold.
11:02:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked of the 510 individuals who came into
Fairbanks correctional facility if any came in on protective
custody.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that 510 individuals came back in on
protective custody for a total of 1743 times in one year.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN remarked that Anchorage has more than
three times the population of Fairbanks but has fewer Title 47
individuals.
11:04:26 AM
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if the Fairbanks numbers are skewed because
one or two people were returning more frequently.
MR. WILLIAMS answered yes.
CHAIR MCGUIRE remarked that the figures show where some of the
cost drivers are.
11:05:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked the modal average number that
most people return.
MR. WILLIAMS said he didn't know that answer. He went on to
other policy issues: one being that the cost of the phone call
system just went up, actually causing what looked like a riot at
Lemon Creek. Information he has indicates that the cost burden
has increased on inmates, although it saves the DOC money.
11:07:19 AM
MR. HANLON said another surprising issue is that not all
correction officers could initially attend the training basic
academy, which doesn't run continually. One correctional officer
said it took him 10 months to get to the Academy. This results
in doing things the academy way or the field way. The time they
are brought on board initially should be much shorter and they
should be assigned to a field training officer.
It was equally confusing that no uniform system is set up to
either annually or at some fixed time make performance
evaluations to ensure that people understand their jobs and are
performing them correctly. One officer told him he hadn't had an
evaluation for eight years.
11:10:46 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said a big concern of a current corrections
officer (CO) and one retired one is that they had started out
with very specific approaches to training with updates
throughout the year. That had gotten reduced down to one of the
officers getting just two hours of training and even that had a
backlog. This needs to be highlighted as cultures and best
practices change.
11:11:08 AM
MR. WILLIAMS moved on to viewing slides starting with the
oldest, the Davon Mosley case, mostly because it was is
concerning. On March 20 the video showed Mr. Mosley who was
taken into segregation for challenging a CO to a fight. It
doesn't appear that he did that, and he voluntarily handcuffed
up on this day. He was in custody for 20-some days. He was
sprayed with human pepper spray that first day, a common tool
for law enforcement that is permitted in jail settings under
strict policies. In this case, it occurred inside the cell.
He explained that the pepper spray is at an approved level for
humans. Later on the same day, Mr. Mosley again got a very large
blast of the spray. The video showed Mr. Mosley at the cell door
uncuffing, because he had to be cuffed when he was out of the
cell. When he returned to the cell, the door closed and he has
his cuffs on behind him; he goes back to the door so the cuffs
could be removed. In the scene he appears to fall down with one
cuff on and he walks back with one cuff on. He shouldn't have
one cuff on; both should be removed. The cell door is closed; he
is walking back to the bunk with no mattress. He is then sprayed
with a full blast, a much larger dose from a much larger
canister, after he sits down on the bunk with the cell door
closed.
11:15:04 AM
SENATOR COSTELLO asked the physical result of getting pepper
sprayed.
MR. HANLON said it is very irritating and uncomfortable,
especially if it gets into your eyes or mouth, or if you are
sweating. In law enforcement it is used to get compliance. After
it's used the standard protocol is to rinse the individual off.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if physical ramifications are more
serious from an inappropriate level of pepper spray and if Mr.
Mosley was rinsed off both times.
MR. WILLIAMS explained that higher concentrations of the
irritating agent is what is used for a bear; it is reduced for
humans. "It's very uncomfortable. It shuts you right down." In
that particular case, Mr. Mosley used water in the sink and
toilet water to rinse himself.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked what possible justification there could be
for spraying somebody once they are already back in their cell.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that he found no justification. On March
25, Mr. Mosely was picked up on warrant out of California and
brought to the Anchorage jail. On this day, agents from
California showed up to take him back. As a result, according to
DOC documents, when they saw him in this condition, they did not
want to assume custody, and didn't. He was subject to release
this day after the paperwork was processed. The paperwork was
apparently lost at the Anchorage jail and he was held in custody
until the day he died. By all legal standards, he should have
been released either on this day or very shortly thereafter.
11:19:18 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked the reason for the original warrant from
California.
MR. HANLON answered taht it was a parole violation warrant.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked about Mr. Mosley's mental health condition.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if California officials did not think the
offense was serious enough to risk moving Mr. Mosley, were they
provided with any possible reason he remained in custody for
another week from March 27 until April 4.
MR. WILLIAMS answered they couldn't find a reason in the record.
SENATOR MICCICHE wondered if this was a widespread problem,
because of the $80-120/day cost for individuals to DOC.
CHAIR MCGUIRE remarked that the PEW Report mentioned how many
people are in pretrial status and in on probation violation, as
opposed to having gone through the actual conviction process.
11:22:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if Alaska law requires DOC to
notify the court if the charges are dropped against a person and
if he has a right to a hearing. Does anything in the law protect
the prisoner?
MR. WILLIAMS said that was getting away from his area of
expertise, but he couldn't deduce anything from the facts that
caused the system to retain Mr. Mosley from March 27-on.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he wasn't aware of any crime under
Alaska law for mistreating a prisoner.
MR. WILLIAMS said that was correct.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked how long it usually takes between when
charges are dropped and the person leaves the system when things
go correctly.
MR. WILLIAMS said it can take a few hours, but the same day or
overnight, not the multiple days in this case.
11:24:19 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said that may be a policy Acting Commissioner
Monegan could focus on in his wrap-up.
SENATOR MICCICHE said if he were a state with a problem
individual that Alaska had now chosen to care for, he might
leave them in Alaska, too. In the future, they should consider
either committing to extradite the individual or dropping the
warrant, period. If the crime is not serious enough, Alaska
shouldn't be volunteering for care taker status to solve other
criminal justice problems.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked about Mr. Mosley's diagnosis and how he came
into protective custody in the first place.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that he was on a warrant, not protective
custody.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked what precipitated his arrest.
MR. WILLIAMS said concerned extended family members initiated a
welfare check, because Mr. Mosley is bi-polar and has had mental
health problems in the past. He did better on meds. The autopsy
report said he still had some residual meds in his system. It
looks like he had them initially, but not for the extended part
of his stay. He showed pictures of Mr. Mosley in the state of
declining health.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said they should look at the prison population as
a whole and the policy protocols for handling of welfare checks,
because such a high percentage have underlying mental health
issues. Family said they tried to bring mental health drugs to
him, but were declined.
MR. HANLON added that this was an extradition case and those are
handled differently than the typical criminal case. It starts
with a warrant and then the person is placed in custody. There
may be provisions that allow them to bail out, but commonly
there are no bail provisions. There is, however, a 10-day hold
and the person is entitled to council. It makes no sense that
this person was on a 10-day extradition hold. They are usually
brought back in court on the 10th day. If the state still wants
him the process continues, but if they don't, he is usually
released. In this instance the answer was they didn't want him,
in which case the warrant goes away.
MR. WILLIAMS and MR. HANLON both said they could find to no
explanation for keeping Mr. Mosley.
11:29:33 AM
MR. WILLIAMS continued showing the pictures; one showed that Mr.
Mosley had no mattress and only one blanket in his cell. He
explained that people who are locked up in solitary confinement
find something to do to occupy their time or they get into
trouble. That is the reason why employment inside prisons and
all the things they used to do in terms of prison industries
were good things. Solitary-confined people, unless they
absolutely have to be there, become problematic and trouble-
makers. Some are not good people to begin with. It looks like a
viable option, but people need outlets or they devolve. This is
why other states have made very substantial progress in reducing
its use.
11:33:13 AM
CHAIR LEDOUX referred to a picture and asked if Mr. Mosley was
totally naked and asked if that is how prisoners are left in
solitary confinement.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that is how Mr. Mosley was left for this
period of days. They had heard other stories of prisoners going
without clothes for shorter periods of time, but hadn't
identified other cases where someone was left without clothes
for extended periods of time. Mr. Mosley's case is the most
egregious. Being nude is unacceptable in prison, he said, and
this was multiple days on end.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if Mr. Mosley took his clothes off or was he
not even given clothes.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that at this point, Mr. Mosley wasn't
given clothes. They paint the picture that he tore some of his
clothes and his mattress up earlier; the dynamic is, well, you
destroyed the clothes you had earlier, so you don't get clothes
now. DOC has forms that sort of approve this standard of care
and some are signed off at supervisory levels.
MR. WILLIAMS continued displaying pictures from March 31 showing
that a sandwich and an apple had been thrown in from a slot in
the cell door. On April 4, a picture at 11:18 a.m. showed Mr.
Mosley gasping for air (agonal breathing), releasing his bladder
and probably dying. He was found at 1:10 p.m. and staff entered
his cell at 1:16 p.m.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked how he died and if an autopsy was performed.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that he had 12 duodenum ulcers and died of
internal bleeding.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if that is a typical result of a
beating.
MR. WILLIAMS said he saw nothing in the videos indicating that
beatings occurred.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if anyone knew why he had
duodenum ulcers.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that his close physician friend told him
that stress induces ulcers, but they didn't know that was the
reason Mr. Mosley died.
11:38:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if there is any gap in the tape.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that there are 20 days-worth of videos and
he didn't look through all of them. People who saw the videos
didn't see anything like that, but there was a three-hour period
when he was gone out of any camera shot, presumably to shower,
and no bruising was found in the autopsy.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said there was some question of his being pulled
out of cell for a few hours.
MR. WILLIAMS clarified that he didn't look at every hour of all
the videos. According to the family and their lawyer, there was
a period of three hours when he was not in the video.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked his physical state of health before entering
the facility.
MR. WILLIAMS said he looks healthy when he comes in: walking,
talking, and cooperating everyone.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked his age.
MR. WILLIAMS said he forgot, but over the course of the videos
he has trouble walking and by April 4th he's not functioning
well. He staggers around and sits down a lot. His condition was
highly troubling.
11:41:01 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if any employees had been disciplined
for any actions related to this case and if the procedures
followed by the officers were the corrections' policies.
MR. WILLIAMS answered the only employees that were disciplined
were the two on shift of the last day in Mr. Mosley's life,
because they were supposed to be doing security checks every 30
minutes and one of them claimed he saw Mr. Mosley alive at about
noon, when he had already passed at 11:18 a.m.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the corrections officers were
following policies that were in place at the time.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that staff felt they were doing what they
were supposed to be doing. He explained that clear policies
provide for adequate food and medical care. There are policies
for administrators, as well, on walking through and making sure
they are aware of the conditions of people that are on
segregation. If these policies had been followed, this death
should have been prevented. A culture seemed to have been
created around segregation, so he and Mr. Hanlon spent many
hours together looking at these places and talking about the
culture and the environment. Mr. Mosely's case is probably the
most profound and most extreme in terms of the concept of
culture.
Their report talks about how on certain days in solitary
confinement no one wanted to shower or didn't want to make a
phone call. To him that seems highly irregular. Other
facilities' log books are filled out to the "T," because that
superintendent "rides roughshod over them." They all get their
showers; you know which ones are out. It looks real.
11:44:39 AM
SENATOR COGHILL said it is very disturbing and that a regular
person could not do well under these circumstances. Putting
youth in confinement is troubling and he vowed to take their
recommendations seriously.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Mr. Mosley's weight when he entered the
facility.
MR. HANLON said he didn't remember, but the pictures show that
he lost weight.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked what had been done procedurally
immediately to get in the way of this occurring again until they
can find solutions system-wide.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that these things have to come out as a
recommendation of Internal Affairs. In this case if there had
been a proper Internal Affairs investigation they probably would
have made ground, because it would have all been out in front.
In the short term, the governor assigned him and Mr. Hanlon to
look at all future deaths. Commissioner Monegan is on board and
will assign his hand-picked team. The remedy is to be as
transparent and honest as possible if anything occurs like this.
Their report is a first step, but he wants to develop a stand-up
agency that operates outside of the commissioner's pressure and
influence. The facts need to come out clean and those will drive
the solutions. The biggest problem is that they haven't had the
facts in front of them. But the governor is not letting off this
particular case.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said they look forward to partnering with the
executive branch to address action on these issues.
11:49:24 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE said he has a small background in investigation
and there are certain levels of risk that require immediate
solutions and he hoped this investigation rises to that level.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what assurance Alaskans have that if they
have a loved who is sent to a state corrections facility in the
immediate future that they haven't been sent somewhere to die.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that everything that came out of their
recommendations is a good start and the internal investigation
piece is so important because it changes behavior inside
facilities. However, the public trust issue isn't a quick fix.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked if there is any evidence that Mr.
Mosley or his family was aware of his medical condition and at
any time during this period did he ask to see a doctor. And did
he get ulcers before or after incarceration?
MR. WILLIAMS answered that nothing in his medical file indicated
he had ulcers when he came in and it's hard to figure out from
the file that he asked for medical care. One time he asked to
speak to a mental health technician and there was no log entry
saying he met with anyone. Records weren't kept well, and in
that kind of environment one learns whether asking for something
has any real chance of getting a response.
11:53:43 AM
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if serious bodily injuries while in jail
would be investigated.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that Commissioner Monegan is fully aware
of the huge problem in reporting bad things that have occurred
inside the facilities and his new leadership means they will
tell the truth.
11:55:48 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE invited the Mosely family forward and said she was
sorry for their loss and appreciated their bravery in coming
forward.
KHANESIA MOSLEY, Mr. Mosley's mother, thanked the committee for
the opportunity to speak; she wanted Davon's truth to be told.
She appreciated the work they had done and what the governor is
doing.
VERNESIA GORDON, Mr. Mosely's fiancé and the mother of his three
children, thanked god for justice.
MS. MOSLEY said Davon was healthy when he entered the facility.
He called his fiancé up every day until the 23rd; he asked for
medical attention every day and never received it.
12:00:17 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if she was made aware on March 25 that
California authorities decided to quash the warrant for his
parole violation.
MS. MOSLEY said they weren't contacted the day Davon died until
8 p.m. She went to the jail that day at 1:40 p.m. and they told
her that he was fine and to come back later. Later they called
his brother and told him he was gone.
CHAIR LEDOUX apologized on behalf of the State of Alaska for
this travesty.
MS. MOSLEY thanked her and said she didn't want anyone else to
have to go through this emotional pain. That is why she wants
this to be known as Davon's Law.
12:02:02 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the value of life is very important to all of
them and they have tried to keep this as unpolitical as
possible. She thanked them for coming forward and looked forward
to getting something in place this session, so hopefully his
children can say he made a difference.
CHAIR MCGUIRE invited Mr. Williams and Mr. Hanlon to come back
to transition to the next case.
12:03:25 PM
MR. WILLIAMS described the Kobuk Case and how policy was
interpreted then. This issue started over a struggle to remove
civilian clothing and replace it with institution clothing. Mr.
Kobuk was admitted to the Anchorage jail in January 28; he was
charged with stealing a car. The Anchorage Police Department
(APD) officers were asked to take two sweatshirts off of Mr.
Kobuk for evidence. DOC policy was interpreted differently by
staff; some thought it meant that once a person was in custody,
if APD wanted any clothes for evidentiary value, they had to get
a warrant. The way it was interpreted by other officers was that
APD was asking for it and they wanted to help them out.
He said removing civilian clothing and replacing it with
institutional clothing has a good rationale - for safety. In
their assessment, this became a fight over clothing that could
have either been delayed or reviewed when everyone had calmed
down. He wasn't releasing the video at this point, because the
family had not had time to weigh in.
MR. WILLIAMS said when Mr. Kobuk came in, he told the nurse that
he had cardio-myopathy (a bad heart). But during the course of
the restraint, he was placed on his stomach and the sweatshirts
were essentially cut off of him. The report states that he
articulated to the AP officer and a corrections officer that he
couldn't breathe several times and he can be heard saying it on
one of audios. At 23:45 the correctional officers leave the
cell. At one time an officer actually looks at Mr. Kobuk,
because he recognizes that he is not looking right. At 23:48
they realize that he is not moving. Just 30 seconds or so after
that they take him outside and start lifesaving measures, but
then Mr. Kobuk passed.
12:08:48 PM
The next case is about Joseph Murphy, a protective custody case
in Lemon Creek. This death occurred during their review. He did
not release the video, because the family had not weighed in.
Officers left the cell 23:45 and at 23:48 Mr. Murphy was not
moving. Thirty seconds later, life saving measures were started
and then he died.
12:09:33 PM
MR. WILLIAMS explained that Mr. Murphy was brought in on
protective custody at 0700 and not charged with any crime. His
blood alcohol level was .16 or .18.
CHAIR LEDOUX remarked that his blood alcohol level was not that
high and asked why someone is brought in for protective custody
when they have just a .16.
MR. WILLIAMS agreed that it wasn't a high blood alcohol level.
Mr. Murphy could walk and talk and didn't look bad. But at 5:52
a.m. he started complaining of chest pains; at 5:56 a.m. another
staff member shows up and he complains of chest pains. At 6:02
DOC documents say staff 4 overhears staff 3 say to Mr. Murphy:
"I don't care. You could die now. I don't care." At 6:05 a.m.
Mr. Murhpy is walking around patting his chest and periodically
pounding on the door. At 6:09 a.m. he is down on hands and knees
banging on the door; at 6:14 a.m. he's patting his chest again.
At 6:19 a.m. he has what appears to be a heart attack. At 6:32
a.m. staff start to inquire because he doesn't look right. At
6:34 a.m. they go into his cell and lifesaving are started at
6:37 a.m.. Shortly thereafter Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
arrives and continues with lifesaving measures for 45 minutes,
but then Mr. Murphy passes.
12:14:30 PM
MR. WILLIAMS said Gilbert Joseph was brought in for protective
custody. His background is that he drinks hand sanitizer and had
a blood alcohol level at the autopsy of .5, way beyond
functioning, but yet he was cleared from the hospital.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what "cleared from the hospital" means.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that "clearing" is a subjective term that
has no standard meaning; it means a hundred different things to
a hundred different people.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if hospitals don't want intoxicated
individuals because they cost money.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that in his opinion it is a resource
issue: they take up bed space and many times they are
uncooperative. Statute says prison is supposed to be the last
stop, but it has turned into something else. The remedy will
cause a lot of questions. The hospitals don't want them to stay,
but the reality is they are putting people like Mr. Joseph who
was at a highly toxic level in a prison.
12:18:27 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said alcoholism is a disease that is an epidemic
in Alaska. People are being put in protective custody with lower
blood alcohol levels because they are maybe not liked for some
reason. On the other end, some have a medical condition and a
high blood alcohol level. Is jail the appropriate place?
She explained that for example, Bethel has this exact problem
and they have a new facility that is designed intoxicated
individuals into protective custody, but it is a medical-like
facility that administers withdrawal drugs and does monitoring.
The goal is to release them into a planned rehabilitation
program. She didn't know what the costs are but the diversion
ability has been tremendous in that community.
12:20:30 PM
MR. WILLIAMS said there is a lot of discretion in this area and
different communities are handling it in different ways.
Ketchikan also has very low numbers and it has have a very
successful sleep-off center. The superintendent talks glowingly
about how the community has dealt with the issue, but it doesn't
work well in all communities.
CHAIR LEDOUX said it would seem that someone with a .4 or a .5
blood alcohol level belongs in a hospital and asked if there are
statistics on income levels and races of these individuals.
12:22:23 PM
MR. WILLIAMS answered the law gives the police officer a lot of
discretion when no-one else can take care of an intoxicated or
at-risk individual.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN mentioned the resource challenge that is
placed on the police departments and hospitals.
SENATOR MICCICHE said it likely took decades to get into this
situation of "a major management problem in our prisons." He
asked where the Department of Law was during all of this.
12:27:10 PM
MR. WILLIAMS replied that the Department of Law had been
notified of concerns on all these cases. In this case, the
trooper was wrong in reporting that nothing happened in the cell
when the man had been assaulted numerous times. He and Mr.
Hanlon considered whether this was incompetence or purposeful,
but they couldn't answer that exactly. The facts point to a
combination of reasons of how the DOC got there. Some things
have been changed since then, just by the fact that they are
investigating. He remarked that the Department of Law was trying
to make sure the state didn't get sued for doing bad, and it is
worthy of them to guard the state's resources. However, that
became the way the problem was approached and he hoped that
started changing today.
CHAIR LEDOUX commented that in a private situation an attorney
might advise a client to dispose of private documents, but it
would not be appropriate for the Department of Law to advise
that; it wants to see bad things in the light of day.
CHAIR MCGUIRE agreed that the report mentions a culture that is
protective and part of their job is to change that.
12:30:25 PM
MR. WILLIAMS said at 12:20 a.m. Mr. Joseph is hit by his
cellmate; at 12:22 a.m. he is punched in the head. When he first
got this report, it gave the impression that Mr. Joseph died in
his sleep but that was not the case. At first, Mr. Williams
explained that they originally received the camera angle on the
left that didn't show anything. However, after he went back and
visited the facility he was provided the second camera view that
was not provided to the DOC investigation team, the trooper or
to him. This raised alarms about what was going on. This is why
internal investigations matter so much.
He explained that the second camera was clearer and it showed
the cell door. At 12:33 a.m. a staff member knew he had been
assaulted at least once. He was watching this camera in a
control room; he called the Sergeant and other staff and told
them Mr. Joseph just got punched. They went down and checked it
out. Nine minutes after the staff leaves, the cellmate (one of
three protective custody individuals in the cell) punches Mr.
Joseph again. A few minutes later he is hit again open-handed
across his chest. Mr. Joseph does not move during the entire
time of the assault. At 12:45 a.m., Mr. Joseph is completely
incapacitated and unconscious. He was drug into his cell and
does not move on his own at any time.
One camera shows the cellmate putting his hands over Mr.
Joseph's mouth for two seconds while the other correction
officer is standing there, because Mr. Joseph is snoring very
loudly. At 12:49 a.m. the cellmate rolls Mr. Joseph on his
stomach and he got even worse. He is facing straight down on the
mat. So, if he had problems with breathing before, it's worse
now. At 1:18 a.m. the other cellmate moves closer to him after
being against the wall. This did not look right. At 1:30 a.m. -
the video footage wasn't very clear - the cellmate put his hand
underneath Mr. Joseph's face for 15 or 20 seconds. It's clear
that at 1:32 a.m. Mr. Joseph starts agonal respiration (a
medical term for high carbon dioxide in brain stem, basically a
last struggle to live). At 1:33 a.m., the cellmate hits Mr.
Joseph on the back really hard. The last time a breath was noted
was at 1:34 a.m. At 2:01 a.m. a security check is given. Mr.
Williams said he surmised that Mr. Joseph had passed right after
the agonal breathing. At 3:04 a.m. staff finally realizes
something is wrong and he is taken out of the cell.
12:38:43 PM
When he is taken out of the cell another camera caught the
imprint of his nose and mouth straight down on the mat. At 3:13
a.m. the EMS arrives.
MR. WILLIAMS stated that the governor is committed to doing
something about this in a non-political way. It will take real
thought and strategy. Mr. Hanlon is on contract for the next six
months to investigate in case something else similar occurs.
CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked him and vowed to work with him during the
upcoming session. She commended the governor's statement that
leadership is not turning your back on problems in your state
because they are ugly or can make your administration look bad.
Finally, she said corrections is reflective of our civilization.
All people have their struggles, particularly with drugs and
alcohol and cutting mental health programs reflects on this.
MR. HANLON echoed Mr. Williams' comments in that the report
pointed out some clear areas that need to be addressed. Going to
jail seemed to be automatic as opposed to a measure of last
resort and there is no established criteria for "clearing" a
person.
12:45:05 PM
To people who have relatives in the system, Mr. Hanlon said
these cases are gross anomalies to the normal care and attention
that is given to inmates in the prisons.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if the DOC gave them unfettered access to its
records.
MR. HANLON answered that they were given complete freedom to
whatever records they needed, written and recorded, but earlier
in the review they got some feedback from staff that their
superiors wanted to know what questions were asked.
12:47:04 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE commented that prison should not be "cushy,"
but it should be safe. He is disturbed by what he has heard,
particularly in protective custody cases. He asked if the one
inmate charged with assault could have had something to do with
the demise in the last case.
MR. WILLIAMS answered the inmate had not been charged with
anything yet, but he knew it had been referred to the District
Attorney's (DA) Office, because he personally called the DA
about it. The DA hadn't even heard of the case before that.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the Judiciary site would have link to the
report and the power point from today. She asked how families of
incarcerated individuals could contact him.
MR. WILLIAMS responded that right now he is getting emails and
letters through constituent relations in the governor's office.
He is comfortable with them coming to his office, the
commissioner's office or the governor's office. His email is
dean.williams@ak.gov.
12:51:28 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if he is reviewing all internal policies to
ensure they have been updated and are comprehended by staff and
are steps being taken right now where there are known problems
(solitary confinement, suicide and training) with an eye to a
more comprehensive policy later.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that Commissioner Monegan had already
started the policy review. Some policies have been updated, but
at a grindingly slow pace. So, the expectation is of making
progress.
12:53:25 PM
CHAIR LEDOUX said people are confused about protective custody
under Title 47 and the maximum amount of time and asked if the
statute itself is confusing or have people just not read it.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that the statute clearly says the 12-hours
is a maximum unless other things occur, like someone wants to
pick you up. The practice is the issue.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked how protective custody had been changed for
juveniles and if it could simply be that way for everybody.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that it could. What applies to adults
right now used to be applied to juveniles. The only thing that
changed is that the statute says: "no longer applies to
juveniles." The only reason that happened is because Alaska was
going to lose some federal grant money in the juvenile system if
it didn't comply with new legislation around this issue. That
law changed, but the system adapted. It's one of the reasons the
juvenile counts in the system are down.
SENATOR COGHILL said solitary confinement for youth is the most
detrimental thing to do, but they were sometimes put into
segregation for protection from other individuals.
MR. WILLIAMS said the reason that is done in adult facilities is
that they are already concerned about their liability issues
with a youth in a jail setting. But research has validated that
damage is done in solitary to juveniles.
12:56:51 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said it should be a facilities management issue
as well as a people management issue. Pre-trial is one of the
biggest issues.
MR. WILLIAMS agreed and added that the importance of the PEW
work cannot be overstated. Driving down prison populations and
providing "white margins" in a prison system is critical to
reform for a whole host of reasons. The fewer prisoners in the
system the better off the commissioner will be at quickening the
reform efforts that need to be done. It is absolutely the right
work at the right time in profound ways.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the most important work this session is to
pull these pieces together.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked why Fairbanks is such an "outlier." If
the one individual is pulled out, it still has people returning
at an average of 3.28 times. Without Fairbanks' numbers, the
mean is 1.4. He asked why so many people are being brought in
under Title 47 protective custody.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that he has a 50 percent confidence factor
on his opinion about this. One is the amount of resources the
community has to deal with Title 47 protective custody: how many
sleep-off beds they have inside the facility. It's also really
driven by the sense of understanding of policy among the law
enforcement. Fairbanks is a community that has a lot of people
from outlying villages who live on the street, who are in and
out of halfway houses and in and out of detox places.
SENATOR MICCICHE said in some cases, Title 47 is likely to be a
lifesaver in terms of fatalities of the homeless who are likely
intoxicated and die from exposure.
MR. WILLIAMS agreed and added that dying on the streets is not
an option.
SENATOR COGHILL added that Fairbanks put together a community
service patrol because people were dying in doorways. That is
one of the reasons for Fairbanks having "frequent fliers" who
will either be in jail 73 times or have gone through the
hospital 73 times. The idea behind the community service center
was to get them to a sleep-off center, the hospital if need be,
or the jail as the last resort. Unfortunately, because of the
service problem, the jail has been more often the place where
they have ended up.
1:03:04 PM
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if there is usually more than one juvenile in
a facility at a time.
MR. WILLIAMS answered yes. In this particular case, there were
four in one facility.
CHAIR LEDOUX asked if jails could have a wing for the juveniles
as opposed to the hole.
MR. WILLIAMS said that at one time there was a program at Spring
Creek that dealt with youthful offenders, but that program was
almost entirely eliminated. Other states have gotten solutions
through policy efforts, not just money efforts.
CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked staff for putting this meeting together in
such short order and invited Acting Commissioner Monegan to
testify.
1:05:38 PM
ACTING COMMISSIONER MONEGAN, Department of Corrections,
Anchorage, Alaska, introduced himself. He said he is glad these
issues came to light, because it is the only way they will be
corrected. His team believes no one has to die in corrections
and that everyone should be treated with respect no matter who
they are. The vast majority of incarcerated people are good
individuals who have made poor choices. A leader like the
state's governor who can feel compassion and outrage for
Alaskans behind bars can create trust in the system, but it will
take time.
LAURA BROOKS, Health Care Administrator, Department of
Corrections, Anchorage, Alaska, introduced herself.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked for closing remarks about what they had seen
today.
ACTING COMMISSIONER MONEGAN said he is sorry this happened, but
he is glad it was brought to the surface. If there are issues
that need to be addressed, the best way to handle them is out in
public. He appreciated the work the governor, Mr. Williams and
Mr. Hanlon had been doing. Good things can come out of it, he
said, that will forestall any future similar kind of events. The
governor can feel compassion and outrage for Alaskans behind
bars and that is a great statement about the philosophical view
of this administration. It will take time, but once trust is
rebuilt, it will go far.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN thanked the commissioner and said the
legislature would support him in any way it could.
1:10:06 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said one of the issues in corrections that is
becoming more painfully apparent is the mental health component.
One of the report's recommendations is to get the facilities
under a singular direction and asked what he has to move around
to line that up.
ACTING COMMISSIONER MONEGAN answered that a lot of consolidation
is needed at the Anchorage facilities, but the mental health
individual percentages are high. Ultimately, it would be easier
to consolidate a spot for them, but that would deny the
families, especially if they live outside of Anchorage, the
ability to provide the support and constant contact to their
family member. He hopes with declining populations in facilities
all over the state that some facilities could be repurposed for
more intensive mental health treatment, maybe even a portion for
Title 47 if it is still going to be in DOC. He said the
afflicted need that family support close by.
1:12:30 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said with the youthful offenders, because of
segregation and behavioral health, facilities management becomes
a huge problem and the pre-trial movement of people keeps the
population pretty dynamic. Today he heard about the barrier at
the CO level between needing meds and getting them. They are
probably less sensitive to that.
ACTING COMMISSIONER MONEGAN recalled the incident in Mr.
Williams' report where one individual reportedly not getting his
meds. If he was there for 20 days, the autopsy showed that some
medication was still in him, which tells him that he must have
been receiving some medication during the 20-day period. But the
details could be tracked a lot better, absolutely.
MS. BROOKS explained that the nursing staff is usually the first
line to determine if someone needs medication or if someone
comes in with that history, but some facilities don't have 24-
hour nursing. What happens then is that those officers take the
history, make a basic determination, but then the next time a
nurse comes on shift, it's up to the medical staff to actually
make that determination. It's also up to the nursing staff and
the other medical staff to make sure that those individuals get
their medications, and if they are not, to figure out why.
1:17:39 PM
ADJOURNMENT
CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked them for coming today. She said throughout
the investigation, those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol
were one problem area along with co-occurring mental health
disorders, and in way the DOC needs hospital-like competency.
She looked forward to continuing that conversation.
MS. BROOKS commented that Title 47 holds are not just for
alcoholics; some Title 47 holds are non-criminal holds because
of mental health issues. The one individual with a .6 blood
alcohol level was a suicide hold. Not only are individual coming
into custody who have not committed crimes, but they are
mentally ill.
CHAIR MCGUIRE adjourned the Joint House and Senate Judiciary
Standing Committee meeting at 1:17 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-13 DOC Review - final (002).pdf |
HJUD 12/8/2015 10:30:00 AM |