ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A second member of the City Justice Center Detention Facilities Oversight Board has stepped down, just one day after the St. Louis Public Safety Director told an aldermanic committee the Jail's superintendent is not responsible for recent detainee deaths.
Wednesday, the Vice Chair of the DFOB, Janis Mensah, stepped down saying the jail's Commissioner "Jennifer Clemmons Abdullah should be terminated, the jail closed, and Mayor Tishaura Jones should be ashamed.
The following is Mensah's resignation letter:
December 13, 2023 Ruby L. Bonner, Esq.
Deputy Commissioner Division of Civilian Oversight 1520 Market St., Rm. 4029 St. Louis, MO 63103 Rev. Darryl Gray Chair, Detention Facilities Oversight Board Division of Civilian Oversight 1520 Market St., Rm. 4029 St. Louis, MO 63103
Dear Deputy Commissioner Bonner and Chair Gray: Re: Vice Chair Janis Mensah Letter of Resignation Warden Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah should be fired.
The City Justice Center should be closed.
Mayor Tishaura Jones should be ashamed.
I resign.
Sincerely, Janis Mensah Vice Chair, Detention Facilities Oversight Board "It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains." —Assata Shakur
CC: Detention Facilities Oversight Board Members Division of Civilian Oversight Mayor Tishaura Jones Director of Public Safety Charles Coyle Warden Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah Clerk of the Board of Alders Terry Kennedy Chair of the Public Safety Committee Bret Narayan
Late Thursday afternoon, board member Mike Milton resigned, who was nominated by Mayor Jones.
Milton, in his letter of resignation, cited 18 months of obstruction from the Mayor's administration and jail commissioner demonstrates the administration does not want to take claims of injustice seriously.
The following is an excerpt from Milton's resignation:
"Simultaneously, for more than a year we've been denied all data, complaints from staff and detainees. To date, fully trained DFOB members have not been on a tour of the jail. Meanwhile people continue to die at rates that should be alarming to the world, and the city's response is additional board training. It's clear to me now, the board was never designed to change the systemic violence in the jail, it was designed to give the illusion of progress while maintaining the state quo."
I resign in solidarity with people who have died in jail. Robert Lee Miller, Denelle Johnson, Augustus Collier. Donald Henry, Courtney McNeal, Ashley Davis, Carolton Bernard, Terrence Smith, Juwon Carter, Dejuan Cole, Javon White.
"I'm stepping down from this idle and ineffective board, but I will never stop fighting against injustice and for our freedom."
Late Thursday evening, Mayor Tishaura Jones' spokesman sent a statement to KMOX on behalf of the mayor:
Since day one, my administration has remained committed to civilian oversight of corrections. From championing the legislation establishing the Detention Facilities Oversight Board (DFOB), to defending it successfully against the Police Officers Association in court, to stepping in when members and investigative staff did not get their training, we have done everything we could to ensure the DFOB could be the effective oversight board it was meant to be. That included the carefully considered nominations to this board.
To be effective, civilian oversight requires board members having a firm understanding of jail operations, confidentiality rules, and federal, state and local laws governing jails and detainee rights in order to make informed decisions. Mr. Milton's absence on training dates and Mx. Mensah's repeated refusal to complete the training only hindered their ability to be informed and effective. However I am grateful for the four DFOB members who have kept their commitment, completed their required training under the ordinance, and now have access to the jail.
I look forward to working with the remaining members, and identifying new members who will take their role on this oversight board seriously and commit to being informed before investigating complaints and conditions at the CJC.
