Lawyers: Butte prison severely overcrowded

Another public defender said an inmate she represented spent seven days handcuffed to a restraint chair in a booking area because, according to the inmate, no mattress was available.

Two other public defenders also addressed overcrowding at the jail, a problem Sheriff Ed Lester has publicly acknowledged for months and did so again this week in response to attorneys' concerns.

The lawyers do not blame the sheriff or the police, nor do they point to a single cause. They say it is a systemic problem in the criminal justice system. But the matter has spiraled out of control, they say.

“We as a bar recognize that this is a complex problem with many causes and different solutions. However, people need to be aware of the conditions facing their fellow citizens,” said Butte attorney Charles McIntosh.

“PETA would be here if it was about animals,” he said. All five attorneys told The Montana Standard that overcrowding is a major safety issue.

Attorneys included McIntosh and public defenders Kaylee Hafer, Shelby Danna, Christopher Miller and James Dolan.

“It’s dangerous. There are too many people there,” said Hafer.

Miller is a longtime attorney and former prosecutor who is familiar with Montana's prisons and detention centers. He says the situation in Butte is dire.

“One of the consequences of overcrowding is that it increases anger, aggression, fear and anxiety among prison inmates,” Miller said.

The lawyers are not naming their clients, saying they do not want their cases to be affected.

Inmates may be handcuffed to a bench in the booking area if no other space is available, Lester said.

“They could be handcuffed to the bench for a while and if they have to spend the night there, they would be given a mattress and some blankets so they can sleep on the floor,” he said. “We just can't have inmates walking around the booking area.”

He said Captain Ray Vaughn, who oversees the prison, didn't think anyone would stay there three or four nights, but without names or dates he couldn't say for sure.

Some are being held in the booking area for non-cooperation, Lester said, and anyone found there is being escorted to the restroom if necessary.

“But he (Vaughn) says it's rare for someone who is cooperative to stay there that long, although it could be a day or two if there's no place to put them,” Lester said.

The prison's ideal capacity is 72 inmates, he said, but staff can easily care for around 110 and even “expand it to 120.”

For several reasons beyond Lester's control, including numerous inmates awaiting placement in Montana Department of Corrections facilities, an average of 136 inmates have been in the prison since May, he said. On Wednesday, that number was 140.

“We are at the mercy of the system,” he said. “Public safety must be our top priority. We have people who cannot stay on the streets. The Department of Corrections must start moving inmates, and soon.”

“Prosecutors are backlogged, defense attorneys are overloaded, courts are overloaded, and sheriffs are caught in the middle trying to manage the jails as best they can,” Lester said. “It's a huge problem across the state.”

The lawyers say the overcrowding is evident in many ways, including the food supply. Among other things, inmates often complain that they do not get enough to eat and say they sometimes lack toothpaste and other items.

Some inmates called a recent incident a riot and told lawyers it was related to conditions and food. The sheriff called it a disturbance but did not dismiss it.

In one cell block on Aug. 6, inmates were given a lunch consisting of a hot dog, a biscuit and a scoop of pasta salad, the sheriff said, but “there wasn't much of it.” It was also “hotter than hell” and overcrowded, he said.

“They were upset and decided to throw all their food trays against the wall outside the day room,” Lester said. “Nobody broke or damaged anything, but our prison staff told them to lock down and they didn't.”

Prison staff called for backup and six prison guards and eight outside officers responded, Lester said. Firearms are not allowed in the facility, he said, and no one pulled or used a Taser or became violent.

The staff acknowledged that the dish was not up to standard, Lester said. They agreed to make up for it with extra portions that night, “and that was the end of it,” he said.

However, defense attorneys say that overcrowding is the only reason some inmates are tied to chairs, benches or restraint seats for long periods of time, and that these incidents prompted them to speak out.

One of McIntosh's clients was handcuffed to a chair from Thursday to Monday, he said, and another was handcuffed to a bench and slept on a blanket on the floor that night before being released on bail the next day.

Hafer said one of her clients was handcuffed to a restraint chair for seven days because there was no mattress or room elsewhere, according to the inmate.

Danna said one of her clients had an arrest warrant and went to jail voluntarily, but ended up being tied to a chair and lying on a mat for two or three days.

“It’s very frustrating because these people are not treated like human beings,” Hafer said.

Everyone said the overcrowding was dangerous.

“Because there are so many inmates, I don't think they (prison staff) can adequately separate the different classes,” Miller said. “Often that results in people who are accused of a misdemeanor – first-time offenders, you know, people who have no clue – being put in a cell with someone who has spent most of their life there or in a similar place.”

“It makes things really difficult,” he said. “The overcrowding makes it impossible to deal with.”

Dolan said: “The humane treatment of prisoners is what sets us apart from other places in the world. Yes, you arrest people when they pose a danger to society and you do it on bail – reasonable bail – but you still have a duty to treat them humanely.”

Lester said PETA's comment was too strong. Inmates are not physically abused, he said, and those who are temporarily restrained in the booking area are escorted to the bathroom if necessary.

For a variety of reasons, including the nature of the work and the prison environment, the county has difficulty hiring and retaining enough jail guards. There are currently 28, seven to eight fewer than needed, Lester says.

For the workers, that means 12-hour shifts, sometimes even 18 hours, and Lester calls them “the real heroes in this situation” because they work long hours in a dangerous environment and ensure a safe environment.

“It's not a hotel, it's a prison,” he said. “I wish we could make everyone happy, but that's not going to happen in a prison. We operate the facility with the safety of staff and inmates as our top priority.”

But Lester recognizes the numbers.

Most prison cells were designed for two inmates, he said, but now they house three. There are single-person cells for inmates with special needs, medical conditions or protective custody status, but most of those are now designed for two people.

Nearly 500 prison inmates across the state are supposed to be housed in Montana Department of Corrections facilities and programs, but that agency also lacks space, Lester said.

According to District Attorney Kelli Fivey, as of last week, 25% of the inmates at the Butte prison had either been sentenced to a term at the Montana State Penitentiary or the DOC or were awaiting sentencing.

Another 19% had been arrested on outstanding warrants or had violated previous prison conditions, sometimes multiple times. Nearly 18% were incarcerated for suspected violent crimes, and another 8.6% were on probation for parole violations.

But the prison is clearly overcrowded, Fivey said, calling it a “system-wide problem.”

Lester said the DOC has taken in five inmates in the past two weeks, and as a goodwill gesture, Anaconda-Deer Lodge Police Chief Bill Sather agreed Tuesday to temporarily hold four inmates from Butte-Silver Bow.

Lester met with DOC officials in Helena on Monday to discuss the issue.

“But I can't point the finger at any other system – the courts, the prosecutors or the defense attorneys,” Lester said. “I don't want it to sound like I'm angry at the DOC. The whole system is just overwhelmed right now.”

The problem has worsened since the COVID pandemic subsided and police began executing more warrants. The influx of fentanyl is leading to more arrests and more criminal charges, Lester said.

The sheriff would like to see more pre-trial probation opportunities, more treatment and probation programs, and electronic monitoring, but these would have to be approved by the courts.

Improvements are also possible inside the prison, he said. Among other things, the plan is to equip the detention center with air conditioning by next summer. There is currently no air conditioning.

But no matter what happens, the sheriff said, there will always be people who need to be in jail.

“They cannot move in society and are not safe for those around them or for themselves,” he said.

The bottom line, say lawyers who spoke to The Standard, is that the prison is overcrowded and something needs to be done.

“The system is not designed for it, the facility is not designed for it, their personnel are not designed for it,” McIntosh said.