Anthony Tillman had been given a wash bucket and a rag to clean himself but his physical limitations prevented thorough use.
What We Know:
- Tillman had been jailed in the St. Louis City Justice Center since October 5th. The jail does not have showers installed for people in wheelchairs which violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The City Justice Center denied Tillman access to shower simply because they were not wheelchair accessible. Jacob Long, a spokesperson for the city, has declined to comment on the matter.
- “I just want to be treated fair, like how everyone else is supposed to be treated,” Tillman remarks. When he attempted to inform the staff of his limitations, he claims that a medical staffer at the Justice Center told him the jail was not “a long-term care facility.”
- A shooting in 2017 left a bullet lodged into Tillman’s back. Tillman is currently serving time for an unrelated incident where he allegedly opened fire on a vehicle that carried a child inside of it. The charges Tillman faces are domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
- Inmates of the jail regularly complain about the health conditions and lack of COVID-19 precautions in the St. Louis City Justice Center. Tensions in the jail peaked when a violent outbreak ensued last month and a corrections officer was briefly hospitalized. During the outbreak, 117 inmates set fires and tossed items out of windows. This was the third prison outbreak in the jail since December and is the summation of COVID-19 anxiety amongst inmates.
- “These were just very angry, defiant, very violent people that we house at the justice center,” exclaimed Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards in a news conference. Edwards claims there are zero cases of coronavirus at the jail. However, so far in 2021, 100 inmates or people speaking for them have called a hotline to report positive tests and coronavirus symptoms inside the jail. A non-profit law firm, ArchCity Defenders, operates the hotline and is headed by Inez Bordeaux.
- The St. Louis City Justice Center is the largest of two correctional facilities in St. Louis and last month Mayor Lyda Krewson appointed a task force to examine jail conditions.
It appears as though there are many things to clean up and maintain in the St. Louis jail system when basic human rights are being violated.
