the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Sep 16, 2024
For decades, there have been complaints lodged regarding conditions for juveniles detained in Wayne County, Michigan. The county just opened a new jail facility in Detroit that includes a juvenile detention facility, and early reviews suggest conditions are not likely to be much better than at the old juvenile jail.
Inmates have been held in lockdowns in crowded cells due to short-staffing. This has led to fights and prisoners busting up fire sprinklers in protest. One inmate complained of having to defecate in a bag due to defective plumbing in the cells.
Attorneys have complained about the new facility having only five booths for them to meet with their clients, compared to 25 in the old jail, and that passersby can easily overhear confidential conversations with clients, including details of their cases.
All this despite the fact that the city gave Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock company prime real estate in downtown Detroit where the previous construction of a new jail failed, in exchange for building the new facility away from the downtown. The city contributed over 500 million dollars of the 670 million dollars it took Gilbert’s company to build the new jail, and this is the outcome!