One day after media outlets published a photo of a St. Louis City Justice Center detainee with an untreated, cantaloupe-sized hernia, the jail has banned attorneys from bringing in their phones when they meet with clients.
The photo of Kevin O'Shaughnessy was taken by public defender Erika Wurst and given to multiple media outlets yesterday at a bond hearing for O'Shaughnessy. O'Shaughnessy's sister and mother were at the hearing, asking St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Katherine Fowler to allow Kevin to await his day in court anywhere but the city jail, where they said his mental and physical medical needs were being severely neglected. The family members, along with O'Shaughnessy's attorney, Jordan Cohen, used the photo as evidence of the neglect.
Now, Matt Mahaeffey with the public defender's office tells the RFT that attorneys are being barred from bringing their phones into the facility. He says that three attorneys from his office all got the same message: no phones allowed.
"Of course, this is the day after both the Riverfront Times and the Post-Dispatch published stories about an accused person, being held at the jail, who has had grossly inadequate medical attention for very serious mental and physical needs," Mahaffey says.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Monte Chambers tells the RFT that this no-phones rule for attorneys is nothing new. "The Department of Corrections has a strict, long-standing policy for all visitors to adhere to regarding the usage of cellular phones and recording devices. This is not a new policy; it is an existing policy," he says.
However, a sign posted today at the jail reads, "Beginning January 15, 2024, no cellular devices or any type of recording/photography devices will be allowed inside the facility. All previous authorizations for cellular devices are no longer authorized."
Attorneys bring their cell phones for visits at the city jail because there is no wi-fi there, so the only way to access court documents from the internet is through cellular data. Also, attorneys may need them in an emergency, especially given that they sometimes conduct visits during extended hours at the facility with a roughly 60 percent staff vacancy rate and swelling inmate population (the dashboard that tracks the number of people at the jail appears busted).
To Mahaffey's mind, the jail's response is just another example of its reflex to "fight transparency to the utmost degree" when its warts become public — as happened throughout last year as the jail saw a spate of detainee deaths and a hostage situation, and reports of detainees being forced to meet attorneys in only their underwear.
O'Shaughnessy has been in the city jail since June, charged with multiple counts of assault and armed criminal action. He was shot by police officers six times after pointing a rifle at a SWAT team outside his house in the Ellendale neighborhood. He is a diagnosed schizophrenic and yesterday in court, Cohen said he had been trying to commit suicide by cop in June. Yesterday’s hearing resulted in Judge Fowler ordering O'Shaughnessy released to BJC Hospital for evaluation.
Mahaffey says that in some ways O'Shaughnessy is fortunate, as he has two family members with resources dedicated to his well being. His sister is a medical research coordinator at Washington University. His mom is a retired teacher. They have both gone out of their way to document O'Shaughnessy's experience at the jail and advocate for his needs.
"He also happens to have a dedicated and dogged attorney, and an assigned judicial officer willing to listen," Mahaffey says. "Oh, and he is a white male."
But Mahaffey stressed that even though O'Shaughnessy's case may be unique in its particulars, "every person being held at that jail is being housed in the same reality as he is," he says.
He adds, "We need to stop listening to the jail administration’s words and start evaluating their actions and inactions. We need to stop listening to the politicians that blindly support them. And we need to stop being okay with innocent-until-proven guilty people suffering and dying in the custody of the state."
The full statement from the city's spokesman on the matter reads as follows: "The Department of Corrections has a strict, long-standing policy regarding the usage of cellular phones and recording devices for all visitors, including law enforcement, elected officials, attorneys, press, and anyone else entering spaces where detainees are held.
"Over the past several weeks on multiple occasions, contraband items including cell phones have been found in the possession of detainees. These prohibited items present numerous security risks, including potential badgering of witnesses or facilitating further criminal activity within the jail. The primary responsibility of the Division of Corrections is to maintain a secure facility, and policies and permissions must be adapted when these trends occur. As indicated to the Board of Aldermen’s Public Safety Committee on December 13, the Corrections Division is working on further steps to bolster its security, including more advanced body scanners and assistance from SLMPD, to ensure contraband does not reach individuals in custody."
This story has been updated.
We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected]
or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull.
Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
