Golden Grove Continues To Be A Hazard To St. Croix, U.S. Justice Dept. Says

The Virgin Islands and Corrections Bureau have been ordered to show up in court by a Federal Judge to explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to abide by a court-monitored settlement agreement established to bring reforms to the Golden Grove prison on St. Croix.

The court case, litigated for 28 years, was brought by the U.S. Justice Department under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. This latest request was granted to the U.S. Department of Justice by U.S. District Judge Wilma Lewis, and it demands that the territory and its Correction Bureau explain why they should not be held in contempt for missing multiple deadlines set in place by a work plan that came as a result of over two decades of a protracted court battle.

“Despite nearly thirty years of litigation, multiple enforcement orders, and countless admonitions from this Court, the prisoners and staff at Golden Grove Adult Correctional and Detention Facility (“Golden Grove”), as well as people in the surrounding Virgin Islands community, continue to be at risk of serious harm from Defendants’ ongoing failure to comply with court-ordered measures remedying unconstitutional conditions at the facility,” the U.S. Justice Department’s latest motion reads.

The U.S. Justice Department motion, which was filed in August, added that the failures of the territory and the Corrections Bureau have not been without consequence, and listed the ramifications of said failures that the Golden Grove staff and prisoners, along with members of the St.Croix community have suffered.

They include:

• A prisoner escaped in May that prison staff discovered only after a woman in the community reported to police that the prisoner had raped her and police contacted the prison inquiring about his whereabouts.
• At least three prisoner-on-prisoner stabbings, two in May and one in July.
• The attempted escape of five prisoners who were caught by the V.I. Police Department, not Golden Grove officials in June 2014.

The U.S. Justice Department tried to “engage the Territory and the Monitor repeatedly to attempt resolution of the Territory’s non-compliance without seeking judicial intervention,” the motion states, however the efforts were not successful.

The motion goes on to say that the territory did eventually submit a proposal with new deadlines, but it questioned the territory’s ability to abide.

“Judicial intervention is now necessary not only to ensure compliance with the Settlement Agreement, but also to address the ongoing emergent and unconstitutional conditions that continue to place those inside and outside Golden Grove at imminent risk of harm,” the U.S. motion states.

The territory has responded by stating that proposed policies between Corrections officials and the independent monitor who assesses the compliance efforts have been ongoing, however the proposed policies were rejected by the monitor, resubmitted and rejected again. The monitor will visit next week to help revise the policies.

According to the territory’s response, “the agreement gave the independent monitor the ability to alter dates as necessary in the work plan,” adding that “the monitor serves an important function as gatekeeper of the work plan.”

Judge Lewis ordered the parties to be present at a September 25th hearing to present oral arguments on the problems concerning deadlines and whether the work plan should be ordered by the court, among other discrepancies.