Barnes v. Government of Virgin Islands
| Decision Date | 20 May 1976 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 76/191. |
| Citation | 415 F. Supp. 1218 |
| Parties | Roy BARNES, Plaintiff, v. GOVERNMENT OF the VIRGIN ISLANDS, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Virgin Islands |
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Thomas L. Hamlin, Legal Services of the Virgin Islands, Christiansted, St. Croix, V. I., for plaintiff.
Milton C. Branch, Asst. Atty. Gen., Department of Law, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V. I.
This Memorandum Opinion, as well as the Order which is appended hereto, are being entered under the above and foregoing caption, not as the resolution of inmate Roy Barnes' complaint — that will come later, after a full hearing on the merits of his individual complaint —, but for lack of any other appropriate caption for future reference and identification.
The complex problem of Corrections has received much of this Court's time and concern in recent days. It is a field in which deeper inquiry appears to give rise to only limited understanding and leaves one with the feeling that he has come no closer to a solution. We simply do not know what to do with persons who are convicted of crimes, nor do we appear to know why we are doing whatever we do. If the mark of a civilized society is the manner in which it treats its least fortunate or least acceptable members, then the verdict on our present society falls far short of being truly civilized.
The least pleasant task of the generally rewarding position which I presently hold is that of imposing sentence on a person who has been convicted of a crime. I cannot realistically expect that when that person has served whatever sentence I impose, that he will be any better off for having done it. I agonize over each such decision, wondering if the course I take will simply commit, rather than dissuade, that person to a life of crime. Nor is it likely that society will benefit in any significant sense, regardless of the course I take.
Corrections here in the Virgin Islands takes on added difficulties. We are a small community, but crime is a very major problem. Each crime affects each of us personally, since a friend or a relative is likely to have been a victim, and the crime occurred in a spot we pass by every day. A crime cannot be casually dismissed as just another statistic the way it might be in a large city in the states. Every citizen feels a personal stake in each sentence which is imposed by the Court.
Moreover, our people are composed of many varied ethnic backgrounds, so any local correctional facility will necessarily have a mixed composition. These groups have different outlooks on life. Whatever values have been instilled and whatever training acquired, have been achieved through means of education and upbringing which vary between the groups, and which certainly differ from the traditional stateside child-rearing process. Rehabilitation, if ever a realistic possibility, could never be achieved by treating all inmates in a like manner. It would take an extremely sophisticated correctional system to achieve the supposed goals of corrections here in the Virgin Islands.
Beyond this, we are a small island community with limited resources. It is economically infeasible to have all the special services, which a correctional facility requires, to serve a 120-person institution. Yet geography precludes us from drawing on larger surrounding communities for these services in a way that a stateside institution might do. This Court is well aware of the problems facing those persons who must attempt to operate a correctional system here in the Virgin Islands.
On the other hand, there are special advantages of our situation which should make the task of corrections somewhat easier than it might be elsewhere. The size of our community enables inmates to maintain close contact with their families and friends, thus making their re-entry into society less difficult. Our tropical climate should permit inmates to spend much longer hours outside engaged in work and recreation than their stateside counterparts, thus contributing to a healthful attitude and alleviating some of the frustration of confinement.
We are fortunate to have a new physical facility here on St. Croix in which to keep the inmates. Few physical plant improvements are needed. We are additionally advantaged in that the problems of drugs, gambling, and homosexuality do not exist on as large a scale as is the situation in stateside prisons. In short we have the potential for a local community treatment center of a type which few places in the states could have. It may be unrealistic to expect that we will ever be adequately equipped to handle certain classes of inmates who require special attention, but this should not mean that we cannot operate a correctional facility at all.
Preliminarily, some explanation is needed as to how and why this Court has recently become actively involved in the correctional system in St. Croix. During my tenure as a federal judge I have sent many persons to our local correctional facility, formerly the Richmond Penitentiary, and more recently, the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility. Time and time again I have seen these same men return to Court and then to prison. It seemed that no one, neither the man nor society, had benefitted from the earlier prison experience, unless society had only hoped to buy a brief respite from the wrath of this particular individual's wrongdoing for its rather substantial expenditure of tax dollars. It is clear that society was not receiving a return on its investment in terms of a decreased likelihood of the commission of future crimes.
At the same time I was receiving petition after petition from the men I had sent to these institutions, raising multifarious complaints as to the conditions and treatment therein. The sameness of these complaints seemed to be at least some indicia of their validity. I handled each petition as best I could in piecemeal fashion. It has always been quite difficult to obtain any reliable information as to the actual state of affairs at the institution. Moreover, even when relief seemed warranted in terms of a change in operation of the institution and a factual basis was established therefor, I was reluctant to intervene because of the jurisdictional questions involved.
Recently, on March 31, 1976, as a result of increased filings of civil rights actions by inmates and reports of a potentially riotous situation at the prison, I appointed an independent five person commission, composed of three citizens and two inmates, to investigate the correctional facility and all phases of its operation and to submit findings and recommendations to the Court. After an extensive investigation, the Commission completed its work on May 1, 1976 by submitting to the Court a carefully prepared, thoroughly documented final report stating its findings and recommendations. I adopt the findings of the Commission as my own, except insofar as criminal conduct on the part of any person is alleged, since any such allegations have not been established by an appropriately high standard and because any such persons have not had a sufficient opportunity to respond. Moreover, the adoption of said findings by the Court shall be subject to a contrary showing at the hearing provided for below.
Furthermore, I fully concur with nearly all the recommendations made by the Commission and I heartily recommend their implementation. Many will not be addressed herein, however, as not being properly within this Court's concern.
The primary recommendation made by the Commission called for the removal of the two top prison officials, the Acting Warden and the Acting Captain, from the acting capacities in which they are presently serving. This recommendation was in the Commission's words "the one most important recommendation it can make to the Court." On May 5, 1976 I issued an order to the responsible government officials, noting this Court's "strong recommendation" that immediate action be taken to effect the removal of these individuals from their present acting capacities. No action, not even a response, has been taken on this recommendation, nor is there any indication that action will be taken.
The minimum standards which the Court sets down today must be met whether or not the aforesaid recommendation is acted upon. I fully concur with the Commission's belief, however, that the success of all other recommendations is dependent upon the immediate and effective discharge of this recommendation. Accordingly, as the Order appended hereto shall indicate, should this primary recommendation not be carried out in accordance with this Order and the time limitation contained therein, the sanctions discussed below shall take effect.
By having become involved in the situation presently existing at our prison, I do not mean to profess any special competence to deal with the monumental problems which confront corrections people. I readily disclaim any such notion. If anything, my recent involvement has given me a greater appreciation of the nearly insoluble problems confronting these people. This Court is ill-equipped to handle the day-to-day problems of a penal system.
Moreover, even if I did have some special expertise, which I clearly do not, it would not be within the proper sphere of this Court's functions to involve itself in the operation of a penal system. This is a proper limitation on the judicial realm.
This needed restraint is cogently described by Justice Powell in Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 404-05, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 1807, 40 L.Ed.2d 224, 235-236 (1974) where he wrote:
Traditionally, federal courts have adopted a broad hands-off attitude towards problems of prison administration. In part this policy is the product of...
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