Senate Resolution 8 - Introduced SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 8 BY SALMON , ZAUN , WESTRICH , KRAAYENBRINK , GUTH , and ALONS A Resolution urging the federal government to 1 investigate and arrest officials in charge of the 2 District of Columbia Jail (jail) operated by the 3 District of Columbia Department of Corrections in 4 Washington, D.C., for violations of the United 5 States Constitution and of federal law. 6 WHEREAS, on the morning of January 6, 2021, 7 thousands of citizens gathered peacefully in 8 Washington, D.C., to support the President of the 9 United States Donald J. Trump; and 10 WHEREAS, around noon on January 6, 2021, President 11 Donald Trump gave a speech to the individuals that 12 were gathered, and stated later on in his speech, that 13 they were going to peacefully and patriotically make 14 their voices heard during their protest near the United 15 States Capitol; and 16 WHEREAS, citizens made their way to the Capitol 17 and multiple arrests were made for those who became 18 violent and trespassed at the Capitol, and many of 19 these individuals are being held in the jail; and 20 WHEREAS, the charges made against those arrested 21 were obstruction of Congress of the United States 22 and official proceedings, assault and interference 23 with law enforcement, using a dangerous weapon, 24 unlawful possession of a firearm, entering a restricted 25 building, disorderly conduct, and parading, among other 26 charges; and 27 -1- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 1/ 7
S.R. 8 WHEREAS, these are serious charges that are being 1 investigated, court proceedings are being held, and 2 if and when found guilty the appropriate sentence 3 according to the law is being and should be issued and 4 carried out; and 5 WHEREAS, the federal Department of Justice, with 6 the consent of federal judges in Washington, D.C., has 7 kept many of the individuals who entered the Capitol 8 or were involved in the attack on January 6 in prison 9 awaiting trials that are months from beginning or until 10 the prisoners accept a plea deal; and 11 WHEREAS, most of these individuals do not hold a 12 felony history, yet they have been denied bond; and 13 WHEREAS, while in pretrial detention, reports have 14 been leaked that have raised substantial questions 15 regarding the absolutely tortuous squalor and cruel, 16 abusive, and unconscionable living conditions imposed 17 on these prisoners and whether the rights of prisoners 18 have been denied and whether even the most basic care 19 needs of human beings are being withheld; and 20 WHEREAS, living in this jail is “like living in 21 a third-world country”, according to Ned Lang, the 22 father of one detainee, because the conditions are so 23 “appalling”; and 24 WHEREAS, according to Joseph McBride, an attorney 25 for one of the individuals who was arrested on January 26 6 and detained in the jail, the prisoners are “held in 27 shoebox-size cells for long periods of time”; and 28 WHEREAS, reports say the prisoners are held in 29 solitary confinement for 23 to 24 hours a day, and 30 -2- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 2/ 7
S.R. 8 suffer mental, physical, social, legal, and spiritual 1 abuse, which has led them to suffer permanent mental 2 damage and a high reliance on anti-anxiety and 3 anti-depressant drugs; and 4 WHEREAS, reports say prisoners are given strict 5 standards for keeping their cells in order, and are 6 stripped of the little recreational and out-of-cell 7 activity time which they are granted, if they fall 8 slightly short of those standards; and 9 WHEREAS, according to attorney Joseph McBride, 10 “There is a pattern of abuse and of targeting of 11 the defendants who are being held pursuant to what 12 happened on Jan. 6. He stated, “It is targeted. It is 13 ruthless. It is nonstop.”; and 14 WHEREAS, reports say that random handcuffing and 15 beating, pepper spray sprayed in the face, and face 16 slamming into the concrete floors of the jail have all 17 been acts of violent physical abuse by prison guards 18 at the jail; and 19 WHEREAS, reports also say the victims of abuse 20 have suffered extreme physical damage including one 21 victim who suffered a blind eye, detached retina, and 22 fractured skull from a severe beating from an officer, 23 while another suffered a broken finger; and 24 WHEREAS, reports say prisoners struggle to receive 25 treatment for these injuries and they are also denied 26 proper medical care for both major and minor health 27 issues including cancer; and 28 WHEREAS, prisoners missed medical appointments for 29 illness care and surgery and have experienced delays 30 -3- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 3/ 7
S.R. 8 in medical appointments and procedures, due to the 1 delay of jail officials in fulfilling the required 2 procedures; and 3 WHEREAS, Christopher Worrell, a prisoner, was denied 4 access to his prescription medications to treat his 5 cancer, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and was 6 unable to see an oncologist for months while in jail, 7 and during his time in jail his cancer progressed from 8 stage 1 to 3 cancer; and 9 WHEREAS, reports indicate countless prisoners 10 have also suffered mental torture from threats, 11 agonizing verbal harassment, and racial and religious 12 discrimination from the prison guards, along with the 13 mental anguish that results from severe isolation; and 14 WHEREAS, reports indicate religious services, which 15 are protected by the First Amendment to the United 16 States Constitution, are not provided to prisoners, and 17 prisoners who have attempted to organize them have been 18 harshly confronted and severely beaten by officers; and 19 WHEREAS, reports also indicate the prisoners have 20 lacked proper communication with their family members, 21 friends, and loved ones, which has caused a decline in 22 their emotional and psychological health; and 23 WHEREAS, according to attorney Steven Metcalf II, 24 who represents several of the defendants from the 25 January 6 Capitol incident, conditions in the jail are 26 “unconstitutional” and are “violating every single 27 basic human right”; and 28 WHEREAS, while speaking about one of his defendants, 29 Jake Lang, Metcalf also shared that “the water 30 -4- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 4/ 7
S.R. 8 [provided to the prisoners] is black [and] he has to 1 filter the water through a sock in order to even drink 2 water”; and 3 WHEREAS, reports indicate that the prisoners have 4 experienced the following while in the jail: excessive 5 heat; lead paint inside the cells; mold-covered walls, 6 floors, vents, and showers; rusty pipes and desks; 7 broken sinks and toilets; cockroaches; mice; black 8 sewage flies inside the cells and showers; and raw 9 sewage that has overflowed into the cells multiple 10 times, causing human fecal matter to flood the rooms, 11 resulting in unlivable conditions that defy the federal 12 regulations; and 13 WHEREAS, reports also indicate detainees are 14 often denied a chance to shower, which is a basic 15 humanitarian need, and they are not allowed to shave 16 or obtain a haircut, unless they have received the 17 COVID-19 vaccine; and 18 WHEREAS, the COVID-19 vaccine has also been required 19 for visitations and access to speak to a lawyer; and 20 WHEREAS, reports indicate that in addition to these 21 deplorable conditions, the prisoners are given small 22 and insufficient portions of the same food almost on a 23 daily basis, they suffer the lack of clean water, and 24 are often left suffering from starvation, weakness, 25 nausea, malnutrition, hair loss, eye loss, scurvy, and 26 other nutritional deficiencies because of it; and 27 WHEREAS, the right to legal access is a basic right 28 for all Americans, yet detainees in the jail struggle 29 to receive it or have an opportunity to speak with 30 -5- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 5/ 7
S.R. 8 an attorney privately, which has made legal matters 1 complicated for their attorneys; and 2 WHEREAS, reports indicate that privileged legal 3 documents have been confiscated from the cells of 4 detainees and video evidence under attorney-client 5 privilege has been taken and watched by jail 6 employees; and 7 WHEREAS, official government video footage that 8 prisoners have a legal right to is being withheld from 9 the public; and 10 WHEREAS, prisoner Zach Rehl was held without bail 11 and has been deprived of visits with his family and 12 daughter, who he has not yet been able to meet; and 13 WHEREAS, 34 January 6 prisoners have requested their 14 transfer and residence at Guantanamo Bay, a detention 15 facility that has held and still holds the most violent 16 terrorists and criminals since they get far better 17 treatment; and 18 WHEREAS, journalists and visitors have been 19 prohibited from entering the jail, as well as lawmakers 20 who attempted to inspect the conditions of the 21 prisoners in the jail, were turned away, and remain 22 unable to inspect or enter the jail; and 23 WHEREAS, many of the prisoners from the January 24 6 incident have been forced without trial to endure 25 jail conditions for an unnecessary period of time, 26 based on their crimes, that are far worse than what 27 most convicted murderers and rapists have to endure, 28 and would rival those conditions of the most notorious 29 concentration camps of World War II, the gulags of the 30 -6- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 6/ 7
S.R. 8 former Soviet Union, the prison camps of Communist 1 China, and the torture camps of North Korea; and 2 WHEREAS, the Eighth Amendment to the United 3 States Constitution forbids the infliction of cruel 4 and unusual punishment and federal law prescribes 5 requirements for protecting prisoner rights and meeting 6 basic human needs of prisoners; NOW THEREFORE, 7 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Iowa Senate 8 condemns the actions of the Washington, D.C., jail 9 and city officials and the federal government for the 10 abject dereliction of duty to ensure cruel and unusual 11 punishments are not inflicted and to ensure the proper 12 rights due prisoners are respected, all outlined in 13 the United States Constitution and federal law; and to 14 ensure humanitarian care for the most basic human needs 15 is given, for the January 6 prisoners; and 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Iowa Senate urges 17 the administration of President Joseph Biden and the 18 federal Department of Justice to investigate and arrest 19 officials in charge of the District of Columbia Jail 20 operated by the District of Columbia Department of 21 Corrections in Washington, D.C., for violations of the 22 United States Constitution and of federal law. 23 -7- LSB 2457XS (8) 90 jm/rn 7/ 7