The U.S. Department of Justice has multiple investigations open in Kentucky , including inquiries into the overuse of psychiatric facilities in Louisville, racial disparities in Jefferson County Public Schools bus delays and a practice of racist policing in Louisville Metro Government and its police department.
In May, the Justice Department announced a statewide investigation into the conditions at eight youth detention centers and one youth development center run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. Specifically, the DOJ is looking into reports of excessive force by staff, prolonged and punitive isolation and inadequate protection, as well as sexual and physical violence. Questions surrounding mental health services, special education and related services for children with disabilities are also part of the inquiry.
I sat down to speak with attorney Laura Landenwich, who is representing some of the alleged victims in a class action lawsuit against the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center.
The allegations below have been widely reported but have not been adjudicated. For more on the institutional response to these allegations, read the Courier Journal's coverage here . We reached out to the governor's office for comment. They explained in an email that the administration has developed an aggressive plan for sweeping changes to Kentucky's juvenile justice system.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What allegedly happened to these young girls when they were in Adair County Juvenile Detention Center?
There's a range of suffering they went through. The most basic and universally applied practice was isolation . So, all of these kids represented in our class were held in isolation cells for days to weeks without being let out except occasionally for a shower. And there were periods where they weren't even let out for those basic necessities.
One of our clients was housed in a cell that didn't have access to running water and had a clogged toilet.
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Another one of our clients had a bug infestation in her cell that, when she asked for cleaning products to be able to clean up her cell, she was refused. Withholding food was used as a form of punishment.
There is a litany of objectively harmful practices that have permeated this facility for years.
Are there any specific stories that stand out to you?
There are so many that it's hard to pick. We have one client who was attacked by other kids; he had a broken jaw and didn't receive any medical care for a full three days. He just sat there with a broken jaw.
There was another individual who wasn't being charged with any crime. She was a foster kid that they didn't have any place to put because she had a severe mental illness, and they kept her in a locked dark cell. She deteriorated so much that the medical staff called child protective services and the Kentucky State Police because they were so alarmed by the conditions she was being subjected to and how harmful it was to her physical and mental health.
Those are a couple of examples among many.
How are they doing now?
It varies.
Some of the clients when they aged out [of the juvenile detention system] they're basically left with nothing. One of our main plaintiffs was pregnant at the time she was incarcerated. She was able to have her baby, but when she was released from the system, she was also a foster kid; she didn't have a high school diploma or a GED. The state ended up taking custody of her child because she didn't have any of the resources she needed to make a life. But she couldn't get a job because she didn't have a driver's license. She didn't have anyone to take her to get a driver's license.
They are set up to fail.
From May: DOJ to investigate Kentucky youth detention centers after scathing audit
Others, particularly those who are still minors and have their parents actively involved, are doing better. They've got family support.
But the kids without the family support, the fact that they aren't getting an education in these facilities it's usually problematic. So, they are just sort of dumped out in the streets and left to their own devices.
The closest thing that our clients had to an education were some workbooks they were given when they were in their cells. But in terms of doing anything that constituted academic credits so they could eventually receive a high school diploma, at least at the Adair County facility, that was not happening.
So, even the ones that are still minors they have found themselves behind in school.
It's really heartbreaking.
What do you want to see come out of this?
A lot.
We hope that the entire system is revamped. The problems have been known and documented since at least 2016 and really, probably, beyond that. We would prefer that a court appoint someone to force this institutional system to change. You can't do this to kids. You can't do this to adults in an adult facility. Yet, the practices continue. They've been unable to fix the problem.
The most recent fix has been the institution of pepper spray and tasers because they're short-staffed. But last we heard, no one had been trained on the appropriate use of Tasers and pepper spray. And at least one local journalist documented an incident where a staff member sprayed into a cell where a child was held. Again, that's impermissible even in an adult facility, you don't use force when someone is not a threat. When they're in their cell, they're not a threat.
We want someone to come in who really cares and knows how to make the changes that need to be made.
Secondly, we want our kids compensated so that they have a chance at recovering from this traumatic experience. Many of them are diagnosed with a mental or emotional disorder. Many of them are diagnosed with PTSD. Being treated basically like an animal just exacerbated all that. We want the state to recognize that they caused harm. And we want the state to provide these kids with a monetary stipend that is going to help them get the therapy, housing, education and all the things they weren't able to get because of this treatment.
Why do you think Kentucky is plagued with correctional facility abuse allegations?
Unfortunately, I don't think it's a Kentucky problem − it's a nationwide problem. We have a culture of incarceration where we treat all of the problems of society, whether it's homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse − we treat it by incarcerating people. So, we have these overburdened systems.
It's not sexy to fund corrections.
So, the solution to all of our myriad problems is something no one wants to put any money into. So, you don't have qualified people providing the medical and mental health treatment that are required. It is a symptom of broader policy failures across the board.
Carli Pierson is the Voices/Opinion Editor at USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Opinion: A broken jaw. A bug infestation. Pepper spray. Lawyer talks alleged Adair abuse
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