MAHONING COUNTY 2 Akron lawyers again sue over jail conditions

The same lawyers filed a similar lawsuit against the county in 1992.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County is again being sued over conditions at its two jails.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Youngstown, seeks to have the courts force the county to close the lockups until conditions are improved.
The suit was filed by the same Akron lawyers who sued the county in 1992 over conditions at the old county jail on West Boardman Street. Inmates complained at the time that the old jail was understaffed and overcrowded.
To help settle the suit, the county closed that facility and built a $35 million jail on Fifth Avenue, which opened in 1996. A consent decree issued by the court mandated how the new jail would be operated until November 2001, when the consent decree was lifted.
The new suit again alleges that overcrowding and understaffing are among the primary jail problems. It also lists unsanitary conditions and other inmate complaints at both the main jail and the minimum-security lockup, which is located directly across Fifth Avenue.
"I don't know what's going on over there, to be honest," said Atty. Robert Armbruster, who filed the suit along with Atty. Thomas Kelley. "It seems pretty strange."
Attempt to tour
Armbruster and Kelley came to the county in October and asked to tour the jail after receiving numerous letters of complaint from inmates. Sheriff Randall Wellington turned them away, saying he would not allow lawyers to roam through the jail.
Because of that, Armbruster said he and Kelley could not substantiate the allegations made by the inmates, so they are hoping to gain access to the jails for investigative purposes as part of the lawsuit.
In their 16-page lawsuit, Armbruster and Kelley allege that the jail is in disrepair and inadequately maintained, even though it is a relatively new facility.
They said overcrowding prevents staff from segregating inmates according to security classification. A chronic staffing shortage has forced deputies to lock inmates in their cells for inordinate amounts of time because there are not enough deputies to properly guard them.
Toilet problems
The suit also says septic pumping stations that control toilets in the jail have been shut down on many occasions recently, allowing waste to accumulate in the toilets without being flushed away.
"Inmates have been locked down in these same cells with no regard for dealing with the stench and bacteria contamination that has resulted," the suit says.
It says that at the minimum-security jail, toilets are not in working order and one shower must be used by more than 50 inmates.
The suit asks that the courts declare that the inmates' civil rights are being violated by the jail conditions, and that the county be forced to close the jails until conditions are corrected. While the jails are closed, inmates should be moved to other, more suitable jails at county expense, the suit says.
It also says county commissioners have failed to adequately fund the jail so that it can be properly staffed and maintained.
County Administrator Gary Kubic said commissioners have turned the complaint over to the prosecutor's office for review and response. Sheriff Randall Wellington could not be reached to comment.
bjackson@vindy.com