Comer: Mayor Bowser’s Solitary Confinement of All D.C. Inmates is ‘Severe Dereliction of Duty’

Voices opposition to granting statehood, reiterates need for Committee to oversee District actions

WASHINGTON—Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser regarding the solitary confinement of more than 1,500 men and women within the District of Columbia’s jail as reported by the Washington Post. Ranking Member Comer is demanding answers from Mayor Bowser about the inhumane treatment of inmates, including locking them in their cells for 23 hours a day without access to basic services. The result is a severe change in the habits and behaviors of inmates including sleeping at odd hours and talking to themselves, all likely a result of Bowser-imposed universal solitary confinement. In the Post’s reporting, it was clear there is no plan to end this confinement in the near future.

“If the Washington Post’s reporting is true,this represents a severe dereliction of duty and failure by the D.C. government to provide basic, humane conditions for D.C. residents held in its custody. The treatment of D.C.’s incarcerated population represents what appears to be the D.C. government committing a severe breach in human rights,” wrote Ranking Member Comer. “This is something to be expected of authoritarian governments such as Russia—not the local government that serves as the center of the free world.”

Given this severe, inhumane treatment and Democrats’ desire to grant the District statehood, Comer again voiced rejection of H.R. 51, an unconstitutional bill which the House of Representatives is set to vote on this week, and reiterated the need for the Oversight and Reform Committee to conduct oversight of the District of Columbia.  

“This report comes at a time when Mayor Bowser is advocating vigorously for statehood for D.C. According to the Post, no other state has struggled to the extent D.C. has in dealing with its inmates during the pandemic … D.C.’s house is not in order, and the solution is not to grant it even more authority through statehood. It is the Oversight and Reform Committee’s responsibility and obligation to exercise proper oversight of the District, its infrastructure, finances, and citizens, including those who may be incarcerated,” continued Comer.

The full letter is available here and below.

April 19, 2021

The Honorable Muriel Bowser
Mayor of Washington, D.C.
1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW #406
Washington, D.C. 20004

Dear Mayor Bowser:

Today, the Washington Post released reporting that details how for over one year, 1,500 men and women at the District of Columbia (D.C.) jail have been locked in cells 23 hours a day. Under the cover of COVID-19 restrictions, “[v]isits were halted. The libraries were closed. So was the barber prompting some men to grow long hair and beards;” some inmates now sleep at odd hours and talk to themselves due to the confinement, the Post reports. If true, this represents a severe dereliction of duty and failure by the D.C. government to provide basic, humane conditions for D.C. residents held in its custody.

The treatment of D.C.’s incarcerated population represents what appears to be the D.C. government committing a severe breach in human rights. The Post details that for almost 400 straight days, D.C. residents in the custody of the D.C. jail have been subjected to “essentially a form of mass solitary confinement – without some of the basic services afforded even to those in solitary during normal times.” This is something to be expected of authoritarian governments such as Russia—not the local government that serves as the center of the free world.

The cure cannot be worse than the disease, but apparently basic human rights in D.C. are now disposable in the name of absolute safety. The Post reports “[d]uring the one hour of the day that their confinement is easier, inmates until recently were prevented from going outdoors.” Sometimes the one hour outside of a prisoner’s cell was at 3 a.m. This kind of treatment is an extraordinary distinction from other jurisdictions’ treatment of their incarcerated populations; one expert noted that D.C. jail is the only jail she had reviewed that had adopted such draconian measures.

Adding to the unsettling picture is the lack of a plan to immediately end this treatment. “There is no formal plan to relax inmates’ 23-hour cell confinement or benchmarks for when an easing of restrictions might begin to take place,” the Post reports.

This report comes at a time when you are advocating vigorously for statehood for D.C. According to the Post, no other state has struggled to the extent D.C. has in dealing with its inmates during the pandemic. On April 14, 2021, during the business meeting held to amend the flatly unconstitutional D.C. statehood bill, H.R. 51, Rep. Clay Higgins offered an amendment that would require D.C. to account for how it will pay for or house D.C. inmates accused or convicted of committing federal crimes. The amendment was rejected along party lines. It is no wonder the District has no plans to build a prison—either where to put it, or how to fund it—and would likely rely on other jurisdictions to house their inmates. No doubt after today’s report those inmates are breathing a sigh of relief.

D.C.’s house is not in order, and the solution is not to grant it even more authority through statehood. It is this Committee’s responsibility and obligation to exercise proper oversight of the District, its infrastructure, finances, and citizens, including those who may be incarcerated.

Please coordinate with the staff of the Committee on Oversight and Reform to arrange a briefing to answer questions regarding this disturbing treatment of D.C.’s incarcerated population. To schedule the briefing, please contact Committee staff at (202) 225-5074.

In addition, please provide a response to my letter of April 6, 2021, which asked you a series of straightforward questions regarding D.C. statehood and the intent to levy a commuter tax against neighboring jurisdictions, which has gone unanswered by your office.

The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.

Sincerely,

James Comer

cc:        The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman