We were recently contacted by an inmate currently locked up on the 3rd floor of Roanoke City Jail about the nature of the conditions there: inhumane. He informed us the cells on the 2nd and 3rd floors don’t have toilets and, due to illegal lock-downs, many inmates have had to urinate or defecate in bottles or in their sinks. There is black mold in the showers that inmates are exposed to when they are allowed to go. Some inmates have not been getting their prescribed medications on-time or at all, and the deputies aren’t regularly doing rounds where they check on the inmates. There’s also reportedly no intercom system or panic buttons in the cells so inmates with medical conditions or emergencies have no way to communicate to the deputies.
We are keeping his name anonymous for fear of retaliation, but here’s a testimony in his words from 3.26.19:
“This facility which is overseen by Roanoke City Sheriff’s office is in violation of our human rights, due to lack of/poor and improper sanitation. We are being housed in hazardous and dangerous cell blocks on floors 2 and 3 of the jail. Our rooms are without intercom systems to alert deputies, in the event of death or medical issues including being released to urinate or defecate. They also lack proper sanitation disposal such as toilets.
Being that this atrocity is taking place daily and has been, due to prior reports: I fear that my life may be in danger or retaliation from certain individuals among the Roanoke City Sheriff’s office. I have documentation of past incidents and I have proof that they committed these wrongs.
Furthermore as we are restricted to these cells during the night hours, and at that point at the full discretion and co-dependency of the deputies making their rounds in a timely manner. Yet according to page 27 paragraph 1, cell restriction states: ‘Cell restriction will not be imposed on those inmates housed in pods on the second and third floors which do not have toilets in the cells.’
The inmates being housed on these floors including myself are victims of these inhumane acts which continue to persist like I stated earlier. Whatever happens from here I do not know. All I know is that we are suffering and it’s a crime being committed within the walls of Roanoke City Jail. If there is anyone who can help put a stop to these atrocities please contact me. We are being tortured.”
And a more recent testimony from 4.15.19:
“There was a female inmate who’s water broke last night April 15, 2019 approx 2:00am on the second floor and because there were no intercoms in the cells the female inmates had to bang and kick their doors for 15min to alert deputies while this woman began to go into labor. This is unacceptable and I ask that you take affirmative action in seeing that these matters are made public.”
To top this off these conditions aren’t new; grievances regarding the same human rights violations had also been filed in November of 2017:
Action Alert: Call-in Week (4.16 – 4.19.19)
Please call Roanoke City Sheriff’s office at (540) 853-2941, and e-mail (sheriff@roanokeva.gov) and demand they immediately address these issues on the 2nd & 3rd floors of Roanoke City Jail:
1. Properly address the black mold!
2. Don’t lock-down cells that don’t have toilets; install toilets in any that don’t have them!
3. Fix or install intercoms or panic buttons in their cells so they can communicate emergencies!
4. Give medications to those prescribed!
I stand with the people that conftions need to change for the better. Install intercoms, do rounds, and don’t lock down floors with no toilets. And let’s have real sanitation.