PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) 鈥� A Virginia jail that came under state scrutiny after the 2015 death of a mentally ill man is now being accused of failing to cooperate with an investigation into three other inmate deaths.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the state Board of Corrections sent a sternly worded letter to the superintendent of Hampton Roads Regional Jail last month, saying the jail鈥檚 response to request for investigative records of the inmate deaths 鈥渋s wholly inadequate鈥� and does not comply with board regulations.
The jail, which houses inmates for Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport 海角社区app and Chesapeake, was heavily criticized after the death of Jamycheal Mitchell, who wasted away in a cell after a series of failures stopped him from being transferred to a state mental hospital.
The Board of Corrections is currently investigating three deaths at the jail in 2018 and 2019.
鈥淭his committee will not tolerate attempts to undermine the board鈥檚 authority,鈥� William Dean, chairman of the board鈥檚 jail review committee, wrote in the letter to jail Superintendent David Hackworth.
Robert Geis, chairman of the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, told the Times-Dispatch that the jail 鈥渋s committed to complying with all appropriate, legally based requirements from the Commonwealth of Virginia.鈥�
The jail review committee says jail officials are refusing to provide the panel鈥檚 investigator, Stephen Goff, with complete internal reports relating to several inmate death investigations.
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