The transfers could violate federal law and open the state up to litigation, a juvenile justice official at the federal agency wrote days after the state's plan was announced.
The judge presiding over the suit, who called the case against the state ‘thin,’ will issue a ruling later this month.
The lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against the state, a detainee at Bridge City Center for Youth, testified behind closed doors on Tuesday.
One man said he suffered two collapsed lungs after officers shot him with a bean-bag round and beat him, even as he was complying with orders. The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the new accounts.
Ronald Craige, who is diabetic, said he was not offered insulin for three-days during the standoff, despite Sheriff Susan Hutson’s claims that detainees refused their meds.
The documents confirm that the facility will house a maximum-security behavioral treatment program.
A ‘program summary’ suggests that the Angola facility could be used as a maximum-security unit for youths housed at any OJJ facility, not just Bridge City.
Hutson has not consulted the court on recent jail violence, meetings on jail improvements.
One day after the Cantrell administration moved to terminate the reform agreement, the judge overseeing the department ordered additional scrutiny from a team of court-appointed monitors.
The court has ordered the city move forward on Phase III over opposition from Mayor Cantrell and Sheriff Hutson.
