By Patrick Wilson and Gary A. Harki
The Virginian-Pilot
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — At least a half-dozen state and local agencies have looked or are looking into the death of a mentally ill inmate at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, but none says it has authority to examine the jail and its operation.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the state inspector general law may need to be changed.
“When they wrote the inspector general law here in Virginia, which was before my time as governor, they didn’t give them the power to actually investigate what they should be investigating,” McAuliffe said Wednesday.
The General Assembly established the office in 2012, and its duties include investigating complaints of fraud, waste and abuse in government and conducting performance reviews of state agencies.
Jamycheal Mitchell, 24, was found dead in his cell Aug. 19 with feces on the walls and urine on the floor. He initially was arrested in April 2015 on charges that he stole $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store that he mistakenly believed was owned by his father.
McAuliffe has said he’s deeply disturbed by Mitchell’s death and doesn’t think Mitchell should have even been taken to jail. The governor has cited improvements in this year’s approved state budget , which includes money for a pilot program to help mentally ill inmates and for permanent housing to move people with mental illnesses out of state hospitals.
Two state agencies have issued reports on the death: the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Office of the State Inspector General.
Both concluded that a series of failures led to Mitchell remaining in jail instead of being transferred to a state mental health facility for treatment. Neither looked into what happened inside the jail itself.
Regional jails in Virginia are run by boards made up of local sheriffs and officials whose municipalities use them. Representatives from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News are on the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority.
State oversight is limited, though the state Department of Corrections’ website says it is “involved with conducting inspections/audits, completing jail construction project and staffing reviews for state reimbursement, managing contracts to provide work release opportunities, providing technical assistance, providing training, educating the general public on jail operations and responding to inmate related issues.”
The Department of Corrections, falling under the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, does not have authority to investigate a local jail.
Likewise, the Office of the State Inspector General says it doesn’t have that authority, either. For its investigation into Mitchell’s death, the office didn’t even ask the regional jail for its internal reports.
“Some of it is our jurisdictional limitations that we have,” Inspector General June Jennings told lawmakers during a hearing last month. “This past year, we asked to expand our jurisdiction and they, the General Assembly included, (do) not want us to have expanded authority for all local jails, so it creates problems for all of us.”
David Simons, the superintendent of the regional jail, has an internal affairs report on Mitchell’s death but won’t release it. It’s exempt from mandatory release under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.
A lawsuit filed this week alleges jail officers beat, starved and treated Mitchell “like a circus animal” as he lost 40 to 50 pounds and died in the jail.
Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales has asked the Virginia State Police for a criminal investigation into Mitchell’s death. The state police have yet to meet with Morales and determine whether they will investigate.
Portsmouth police conducted an initial death investigation, but not a criminal investigation, said Detective Misty Holley, a department spokeswoman.
The FBI also may be getting involved. Spokeswoman Christina Pullen said earlier this week that the bureau is aware of the situation involving Mitchell and is evaluating the information available to determine whether a federal civil rights investigation is warranted. That investigation would be separate from any state police inquiry.
Victoria Cochran, the state’s deputy secretary of public safety under Secretary Brian Moran, said the state Board of Corrections – a nine-member policy-making board appointed by the governor to oversee local jails – has authority to regulate local and regional jails.
Phyllis Randall, the board’s chairwoman and also chairwoman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, was out of the country this week and not available for comment. The Rev. Anthony Paige of Norfolk, a member of the Board of Corrections, said the Mitchell case has not come up before the board.
Copyright 2016 The Virginian-Pilot