CNMI, DOJ file final report to terminate prison consent decree

The CNMI and U.S. governments have filed a final report supporting a joint motion that seeks the termination of a consent decree that the Commonwealth forged with the U.S. Department of Justice 15 years ago to address prison conditions in the CNMI.

Assistant attorney general Teresita J. Sablan, counsel for the CNMI government, and DOJ’s trial attorney Jeffrey R. Murray, filed last week the final consent decree report in the U.S. District Court for the NMI pursuant to a court order.

The court will hear the motion to terminate the consent decree on May 15, 2014.

Last Jan. 27, Sablan and Murray told the court that the Commonwealth has fulfilled its obligations under the consent decree. Sablan and Murray said the parties agree that the CNMI “is in compliance with the requirements of the consent decree.”

Sablan and Murray agreed that an evidentiary hearing is not necessary because the U.S. government does not oppose the termination of the consent decree.

The consent decree arose from a U.S. government investigation in 1978 into the CNMI’s adult and juvenile detention facilities.

The U.S. DOJ observed among other things, that staff members were not trained to respond to a fire emergency; facilities lacked fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers, and emergency generators; cells were keyed with individual locks, which greatly increased risk in the event of fire; emergency exits were not marked; many cells lacked running water; toilets would not flush; shower areas were covered in mold and mildew; and there was poor ventilation and no medical screening, increasing the risk of transmitting infectious diseases like tuberculosis.

DOJ also found that facilities were antiquated, dilapidated, and operating at or near their safe capacity; facilities had inadequate perimeter fencing, poor sight lines, and lacked an adequate maximum security housing area; and inmates and detainees roamed freely, increasing the risk of harm from inmate-on-inmate violence and putting staff at an increased risk of harm.

The U.S. government filed a lawsuit against the CNMI on Feb. 23, 1999. Two days later, the DOJ and the CNMI entered into a consent decree.

The goals of the consent decree was to ameliorate the conditions of the CNMI’s detention institutions that were deemed to violate the civil rights of those detained at the facilities, and to safeguard against future violations.

At the time the parties entered into the consent decree, there were six facilities at issue: the Saipan Prison complex, the Saipan Detention Facility, the Kagman Youth Facility, the Saipan Immigration Detention Facility, the Tinian Detention Facility, and the Rota Detention Facility.

Today, there are only four facilities: the Adult Correctional Facility, the Juvenile Detention Unit, the Tinian Detention Facility, and the Rota Detention Facility.

The Adult Correctional Facility and the Juvenile Detention Unit are modernized facilities that were built in accordance with the consent decree. Tinian and Rota Detention Facilities are used as temporary holding facilities.

In their final report, Sablan and Murray said since the implementation of the consent decree, the parties have worked to identify violations and address them.

The lawyers said the parties agree that the purpose of the consent decree has now been achieved and that termination of the consent decree is appropriate.

In a visit to the Commonwealth on April 2, 2014, assistant U.S. attorney Mikel Schwab participated in an on-site tour of the Adult Correctional Facility and Juvenile Detention Unit.

Sablan and Murray said on the basis of Schwab’s observations and other evidence obtained through its enforcement efforts, the U.S. believes that the Commonwealth has satisfied the intent of the consent decree and that it is in substantial compliance with the consent decree’s terms.

During the April 2014 visit, the lawyers said, the Commonwealth demonstrated conditions that were in stark contrast to those in 1999; the current facilities feature modern equipment able to respond to fire and other emergencies.

The Commonwealth, they said, is in substantial compliance with the planning, fire safety, sanitation, medical care, security and protection from harm, new construction, and compliance provisions of the consent decree.

The CNMI was forced to build the adult prison in Susupe under the consent decree. Construction of the new prison facility in Susupe began in 2002 with an initial cost of about $17 million that later ballooned to $20.9 million. The new prison opened in 2008.

The construction of the Juvenile Detention Unit was completed and opened for occupancy in 2004.