Bill Text: IA SR8 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution urging the federal government to investigate and arrest officials in charge of the District of Columbia Jail
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-22 - Introduced, referred to Rules and Administration. S.J. 678. [SR8 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-SR8-Introduced.html
Senate
Resolution
8
-
Introduced
SENATE
RESOLUTION
NO.
8
BY
SALMON
,
ZAUN
,
WESTRICH
,
KRAAYENBRINK
,
GUTH
,
and
ALONS
A
Resolution
urging
the
federal
government
to
1
investigate
and
arrest
officials
in
charge
of
the
2
District
of
Columbia
Jail
(jail)
operated
by
the
3
District
of
Columbia
Department
of
Corrections
in
4
Washington,
D.C.,
for
violations
of
the
United
5
States
Constitution
and
of
federal
law.
6
WHEREAS,
on
the
morning
of
January
6,
2021,
7
thousands
of
citizens
gathered
peacefully
in
8
Washington,
D.C.,
to
support
the
President
of
the
9
United
States
Donald
J.
Trump;
and
10
WHEREAS,
around
noon
on
January
6,
2021,
President
11
Donald
Trump
gave
a
speech
to
the
individuals
that
12
were
gathered,
and
stated
later
on
in
his
speech,
that
13
they
were
going
to
peacefully
and
patriotically
make
14
their
voices
heard
during
their
protest
near
the
United
15
States
Capitol;
and
16
WHEREAS,
citizens
made
their
way
to
the
Capitol
17
and
multiple
arrests
were
made
for
those
who
became
18
violent
and
trespassed
at
the
Capitol,
and
many
of
19
these
individuals
are
being
held
in
the
jail;
and
20
WHEREAS,
the
charges
made
against
those
arrested
21
were
obstruction
of
Congress
of
the
United
States
22
and
official
proceedings,
assault
and
interference
23
with
law
enforcement,
using
a
dangerous
weapon,
24
unlawful
possession
of
a
firearm,
entering
a
restricted
25
building,
disorderly
conduct,
and
parading,
among
other
26
charges;
and
27
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8
WHEREAS,
these
are
serious
charges
that
are
being
1
investigated,
court
proceedings
are
being
held,
and
2
if
and
when
found
guilty
the
appropriate
sentence
3
according
to
the
law
is
being
and
should
be
issued
and
4
carried
out;
and
5
WHEREAS,
the
federal
Department
of
Justice,
with
6
the
consent
of
federal
judges
in
Washington,
D.C.,
has
7
kept
many
of
the
individuals
who
entered
the
Capitol
8
or
were
involved
in
the
attack
on
January
6
in
prison
9
awaiting
trials
that
are
months
from
beginning
or
until
10
the
prisoners
accept
a
plea
deal;
and
11
WHEREAS,
most
of
these
individuals
do
not
hold
a
12
felony
history,
yet
they
have
been
denied
bond;
and
13
WHEREAS,
while
in
pretrial
detention,
reports
have
14
been
leaked
that
have
raised
substantial
questions
15
regarding
the
absolutely
tortuous
squalor
and
cruel,
16
abusive,
and
unconscionable
living
conditions
imposed
17
on
these
prisoners
and
whether
the
rights
of
prisoners
18
have
been
denied
and
whether
even
the
most
basic
care
19
needs
of
human
beings
are
being
withheld;
and
20
WHEREAS,
living
in
this
jail
is
“like
living
in
21
a
third-world
country”,
according
to
Ned
Lang,
the
22
father
of
one
detainee,
because
the
conditions
are
so
23
“appalling”;
and
24
WHEREAS,
according
to
Joseph
McBride,
an
attorney
25
for
one
of
the
individuals
who
was
arrested
on
January
26
6
and
detained
in
the
jail,
the
prisoners
are
“held
in
27
shoebox-size
cells
for
long
periods
of
time”;
and
28
WHEREAS,
reports
say
the
prisoners
are
held
in
29
solitary
confinement
for
23
to
24
hours
a
day,
and
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suffer
mental,
physical,
social,
legal,
and
spiritual
1
abuse,
which
has
led
them
to
suffer
permanent
mental
2
damage
and
a
high
reliance
on
anti-anxiety
and
3
anti-depressant
drugs;
and
4
WHEREAS,
reports
say
prisoners
are
given
strict
5
standards
for
keeping
their
cells
in
order,
and
are
6
stripped
of
the
little
recreational
and
out-of-cell
7
activity
time
which
they
are
granted,
if
they
fall
8
slightly
short
of
those
standards;
and
9
WHEREAS,
according
to
attorney
Joseph
McBride,
10
“There
is
a
pattern
of
abuse
and
of
targeting
of
11
the
defendants
who
are
being
held
pursuant
to
what
12
happened
on
Jan.
6.
He
stated,
“It
is
targeted.
It
is
13
ruthless.
It
is
nonstop.”;
and
14
WHEREAS,
reports
say
that
random
handcuffing
and
15
beating,
pepper
spray
sprayed
in
the
face,
and
face
16
slamming
into
the
concrete
floors
of
the
jail
have
all
17
been
acts
of
violent
physical
abuse
by
prison
guards
18
at
the
jail;
and
19
WHEREAS,
reports
also
say
the
victims
of
abuse
20
have
suffered
extreme
physical
damage
including
one
21
victim
who
suffered
a
blind
eye,
detached
retina,
and
22
fractured
skull
from
a
severe
beating
from
an
officer,
23
while
another
suffered
a
broken
finger;
and
24
WHEREAS,
reports
say
prisoners
struggle
to
receive
25
treatment
for
these
injuries
and
they
are
also
denied
26
proper
medical
care
for
both
major
and
minor
health
27
issues
including
cancer;
and
28
WHEREAS,
prisoners
missed
medical
appointments
for
29
illness
care
and
surgery
and
have
experienced
delays
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in
medical
appointments
and
procedures,
due
to
the
1
delay
of
jail
officials
in
fulfilling
the
required
2
procedures;
and
3
WHEREAS,
Christopher
Worrell,
a
prisoner,
was
denied
4
access
to
his
prescription
medications
to
treat
his
5
cancer,
a
type
of
non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma,
and
was
6
unable
to
see
an
oncologist
for
months
while
in
jail,
7
and
during
his
time
in
jail
his
cancer
progressed
from
8
stage
1
to
3
cancer;
and
9
WHEREAS,
reports
indicate
countless
prisoners
10
have
also
suffered
mental
torture
from
threats,
11
agonizing
verbal
harassment,
and
racial
and
religious
12
discrimination
from
the
prison
guards,
along
with
the
13
mental
anguish
that
results
from
severe
isolation;
and
14
WHEREAS,
reports
indicate
religious
services,
which
15
are
protected
by
the
First
Amendment
to
the
United
16
States
Constitution,
are
not
provided
to
prisoners,
and
17
prisoners
who
have
attempted
to
organize
them
have
been
18
harshly
confronted
and
severely
beaten
by
officers;
and
19
WHEREAS,
reports
also
indicate
the
prisoners
have
20
lacked
proper
communication
with
their
family
members,
21
friends,
and
loved
ones,
which
has
caused
a
decline
in
22
their
emotional
and
psychological
health;
and
23
WHEREAS,
according
to
attorney
Steven
Metcalf
II,
24
who
represents
several
of
the
defendants
from
the
25
January
6
Capitol
incident,
conditions
in
the
jail
are
26
“unconstitutional”
and
are
“violating
every
single
27
basic
human
right”;
and
28
WHEREAS,
while
speaking
about
one
of
his
defendants,
29
Jake
Lang,
Metcalf
also
shared
that
“the
water
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[provided
to
the
prisoners]
is
black
[and]
he
has
to
1
filter
the
water
through
a
sock
in
order
to
even
drink
2
water”;
and
3
WHEREAS,
reports
indicate
that
the
prisoners
have
4
experienced
the
following
while
in
the
jail:
excessive
5
heat;
lead
paint
inside
the
cells;
mold-covered
walls,
6
floors,
vents,
and
showers;
rusty
pipes
and
desks;
7
broken
sinks
and
toilets;
cockroaches;
mice;
black
8
sewage
flies
inside
the
cells
and
showers;
and
raw
9
sewage
that
has
overflowed
into
the
cells
multiple
10
times,
causing
human
fecal
matter
to
flood
the
rooms,
11
resulting
in
unlivable
conditions
that
defy
the
federal
12
regulations;
and
13
WHEREAS,
reports
also
indicate
detainees
are
14
often
denied
a
chance
to
shower,
which
is
a
basic
15
humanitarian
need,
and
they
are
not
allowed
to
shave
16
or
obtain
a
haircut,
unless
they
have
received
the
17
COVID-19
vaccine;
and
18
WHEREAS,
the
COVID-19
vaccine
has
also
been
required
19
for
visitations
and
access
to
speak
to
a
lawyer;
and
20
WHEREAS,
reports
indicate
that
in
addition
to
these
21
deplorable
conditions,
the
prisoners
are
given
small
22
and
insufficient
portions
of
the
same
food
almost
on
a
23
daily
basis,
they
suffer
the
lack
of
clean
water,
and
24
are
often
left
suffering
from
starvation,
weakness,
25
nausea,
malnutrition,
hair
loss,
eye
loss,
scurvy,
and
26
other
nutritional
deficiencies
because
of
it;
and
27
WHEREAS,
the
right
to
legal
access
is
a
basic
right
28
for
all
Americans,
yet
detainees
in
the
jail
struggle
29
to
receive
it
or
have
an
opportunity
to
speak
with
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an
attorney
privately,
which
has
made
legal
matters
1
complicated
for
their
attorneys;
and
2
WHEREAS,
reports
indicate
that
privileged
legal
3
documents
have
been
confiscated
from
the
cells
of
4
detainees
and
video
evidence
under
attorney-client
5
privilege
has
been
taken
and
watched
by
jail
6
employees;
and
7
WHEREAS,
official
government
video
footage
that
8
prisoners
have
a
legal
right
to
is
being
withheld
from
9
the
public;
and
10
WHEREAS,
prisoner
Zach
Rehl
was
held
without
bail
11
and
has
been
deprived
of
visits
with
his
family
and
12
daughter,
who
he
has
not
yet
been
able
to
meet;
and
13
WHEREAS,
34
January
6
prisoners
have
requested
their
14
transfer
and
residence
at
Guantanamo
Bay,
a
detention
15
facility
that
has
held
and
still
holds
the
most
violent
16
terrorists
and
criminals
since
they
get
far
better
17
treatment;
and
18
WHEREAS,
journalists
and
visitors
have
been
19
prohibited
from
entering
the
jail,
as
well
as
lawmakers
20
who
attempted
to
inspect
the
conditions
of
the
21
prisoners
in
the
jail,
were
turned
away,
and
remain
22
unable
to
inspect
or
enter
the
jail;
and
23
WHEREAS,
many
of
the
prisoners
from
the
January
24
6
incident
have
been
forced
without
trial
to
endure
25
jail
conditions
for
an
unnecessary
period
of
time,
26
based
on
their
crimes,
that
are
far
worse
than
what
27
most
convicted
murderers
and
rapists
have
to
endure,
28
and
would
rival
those
conditions
of
the
most
notorious
29
concentration
camps
of
World
War
II,
the
gulags
of
the
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former
Soviet
Union,
the
prison
camps
of
Communist
1
China,
and
the
torture
camps
of
North
Korea;
and
2
WHEREAS,
the
Eighth
Amendment
to
the
United
3
States
Constitution
forbids
the
infliction
of
cruel
4
and
unusual
punishment
and
federal
law
prescribes
5
requirements
for
protecting
prisoner
rights
and
meeting
6
basic
human
needs
of
prisoners;
NOW
THEREFORE,
7
BE
IT
RESOLVED
BY
THE
SENATE,
That
the
Iowa
Senate
8
condemns
the
actions
of
the
Washington,
D.C.,
jail
9
and
city
officials
and
the
federal
government
for
the
10
abject
dereliction
of
duty
to
ensure
cruel
and
unusual
11
punishments
are
not
inflicted
and
to
ensure
the
proper
12
rights
due
prisoners
are
respected,
all
outlined
in
13
the
United
States
Constitution
and
federal
law;
and
to
14
ensure
humanitarian
care
for
the
most
basic
human
needs
15
is
given,
for
the
January
6
prisoners;
and
16
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED,
That
the
Iowa
Senate
urges
17
the
administration
of
President
Joseph
Biden
and
the
18
federal
Department
of
Justice
to
investigate
and
arrest
19
officials
in
charge
of
the
District
of
Columbia
Jail
20
operated
by
the
District
of
Columbia
Department
of
21
Corrections
in
Washington,
D.C.,
for
violations
of
the
22
United
States
Constitution
and
of
federal
law.
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