Almost every public institution, and many in the private sector, contains some form of built-in accountability system. In our public school districts, local residents are elected to serve on the school board and ensure that the community’s interests are being represented in the school system. Hospitals, nursing homes, banks, museums, and zoos are other examples of institutions that have some form of external oversight mechanism. External accountability is extremely important for any institution tasked with providing services for the public: oversight helps ensure that community standards are being met and provides a separate track for whistleblowers to bring issues to light.
Despite these many examples of institutional oversight, similar systems of accountability for correctional departments are rare in the U.S., despite their immense responsibility in providing for the general well-being and day-to-day needs of incarcerated residents, including housing, food, healthcare, and educational programs. State prisons control every aspect of life for the people incarcerated there, but only a handful of states have any form of external oversight. An independent oversight system is necessary to help root out abuse, fraud, waste, and corruption in a prison system, and to protect the well-being of all those who live and work in state prisons. This is especially true in our state, as Missouri prisons have a legacy of abuse y harassment, as well as medical negligence and misinformation regarding deaths in custody.
A 2022 survey conducted by FAMM shows that Americans support the idea of oversight when they become more familiar with the concept, although very few polled voters had seen, read, or heard much about prison oversight. The majority of Americans (58%), whether identifying as Republican, Democrat, or independent, believe prisons should be inspected more than once per year. A large majority (73%) believe that any inspection should be done by professional inspectors who are independent of the prison system that they are inspecting. By an overwhelming margin (82%) Americans believe that both state and federal prison systems should have some form of independent oversight.
The US prison system is an anomaly in many ways, and its lack of oversight mechanisms is one of them. External accountability for prisons is common in Europe and other parts of the world, but the US has taken a different approach, relying on litigation and court oversight to address inhumane prison and jail conditions. Unfortunately, this approach can only react to abuses of power, rather than preventing them from occurring in the first place. This practice also has extremely limited objectives, and can only require the prison to be brought up to constitutional minimums. For a lawsuit to be filed against a correctional agency, conditions of confinement must be below already painfully low constitutional standards and after harm has already occurred. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was passed by Congress in 1996 to decrease the number of “frivolous” lawsuits brought by incarcerated persons against correctional administrators, and had a major chilling effect on legal action against prisons. The bar to file a case was set extremely high: people in custody must exhaust all administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit (and if they miss short filing grievance windows or fail to comply with complicated procedural rules, lose their right to litigate), must pay court fees in full, cannot receive compensation for abuse unless physical injury can be demonstrated, and can be barred from filing future lawsuits if their suit is deemed “frivolous” by the court. The PLRA further limited access to an already flawed response system. As states and the federal government attempt to move beyond mass incarceration, external accountability and oversight for every prison system is a necessity.
Conditions in Missouri Prisons
In Missouri, there are over 23,000 people living in state prisons. Severe staffing shortages in recent years have exacerbated existing problems: with some prisons staffed at half capacity or even less, the safety and quality of life for everyone inside, both residents and workers, is at stake. Short-staffing means that incarcerated people are forced to spend more time in their cells, with increasingly limited access to social connection, educational or rehabilitative programming, or even necessary medical appointments. In February 2023, Missouri Prison Reform shared an email they received from someone currently incarcerated in Jefferson City Correctional Center addressing this issue: “They are consistently locking the prison down for long periods. Recently the staff claimed the count was wrong for six hours, the counts are always delayed. These delay tactics interfere with medical appointments, law library, religious callouts, legal phone calls, as well as recreation[…]”. In addition to correctional officer shortages, there has been a major shortage of medical staff, intensifying the lack of access to quality medical care. Family members with an incarcerated loved one are frequently kept in the dark about deaths in custody: this interview with family members of multiple incarcerated men who died in Missouri prisons within the last few years illuminates this tragic and disturbing reality. External oversight is not an overnight solution to any of these deeply entrenched issues, but it is an important and necessary first step towards creating a system that is responsive to the needs of incarcerated residents, correctional staff, and their families and communities, while also proactively fighting against abuses of power.
Who Benefits from Oversight? Everyone
Everyone wins when prison systems have external accountability in place. Incarcerated residents, their family members, and correctional staff have a safe and impartial avenue to bring concerns to without fear of retribution. Correctional administrators will benefit from more transparency as well, leading to safer facilities and fewer lawsuits (in Missouri, over $66 million dollars in the past four years have been paid out in lawsuits from former correctional staff alleging harassment, abuse, and misconduct). Oversight gives policymakers peace of mind, knowing that standards of care are being followed and state funds are being spent wisely. Finally, the general public benefits by being more aware of what is happening inside prisons and being informed on how their tax dollars are being used.
Despite the many clear benefits and benefactors of correctional oversight, passing any related legislation will take a concerted bipartisan effort. Highlighting the values of oversight will be an important step in educating lawmakers and the public about the necessity of external accountability for the Department of Corrections. These include helping administration get ahead of issues, reducing the workload of the Department, and addressing miscommunication between incarcerated residents, staff, and administrators.
Principles for Independent Prison Oversight
FAMM outlines eight principles for prison oversight. All prison systems should be subject to oversight by a body that is:
- Independent;
- Able to access and inspect prisons upon demand;
- Able to obtain documents and data upon demand;
- Able to speak confidentially with prisoners and staff;
- Responsive to incarcerated people and their families;
- Responsive to policymakers and the public;
- Fully staffed; and
- Fully funded.
Next Steps for Prison Oversight in Missouri
There has been some major momentum towards correctional oversight made in the past year. In the 2024 legislative session, legislation filed by Representative Tony Lovasco, HB 2689, would have established an independent ombudsman with power to inspect prisons and do investigations. Unfortunately, this bill never received a committee hearing. An incarcerated resident of Jefferson City Correctional Center, Othel Moore, was killed by the actions of DOC correctional officers in December 2023. His death has spurred new calls for reform, especially in recent months as multiple DOC staff have been fired in response. In June, five former correctional officers were charged with a combination of assault, manslaughter and murder offenses. In addition to Moore’s death, ongoing concerns regarding the state of healthcare in Missouri prisons has highlighted the need for oversight. For further reading, see the articles linked below. Meanwhile, national efforts towards oversight for the federal Bureau of Prisons have culminated in the passage of The Federal Prison Oversight Act, which was signed into law by President Biden in July.
In preparation for the 2025 legislative session, Empower Missouri has continued to work with partners and coalition members to increase community awareness of the need for correctional oversight, and bolster support for the issue with lawmakers. We are also compiling information on how much money Missouri spends annually settling DOC lawsuits, as this ongoing cost to the state is a strong argument in favor of oversight. If you are interested in being a part of a working group focused on this issue, please email [email protected].
Further reading:
Just A Prison Nurse – Google Docs
Advocates allege Missouri prison’s health care is in decline | STLPR
Missouri lawmaker calls for more oversight after inmate dies (stltoday.com)
Congress OKs bill overhauling oversight of federal Bureau of Prisons | AP News
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