By Matt Robinson
Deming Headlight
LUNA COUNTY, N.M. — County officials are working to correct problems at the Luna County Detention Center that began during previous administrations, the head of the facility said Thursday following a meeting in which the Luna County Board of Commissioners heard complaints and allegations from family members of inmates.
Interim warden Mark Jasso told the Headlight his staff is “on top of” allegations that have been made against the detention center, which have included allegations of misconduct, abuse, unsanitary conditions and improper diets.
“I know a lot of the allegations are just from the previous administration,” he said, stressing issues have been addressed and his staff is working hard to correct problems.
After the meeting, local Rochelle Barshaw, who has a family member incarcerated, said this is “just the beginning” and that she does not feel the allegations were taken seriously enough in the past. “We can’t do a blame game,” she said. “Bottom line, it’s got to be cleaned up.”
Several family members and friends of inmates at the facility have met with the Headlight to share their experiences and those of incarcerated family and friends. Several pages of hand-written notes were also provided, in which a diabetic inmate detailed the food he was served over a number of days. His wife, Conola Green, was present during the commission meeting and she expressed her displeasure over the food her husband was allegedly served.
“Just last week he started getting a diabetic tray,” she explained after detailing several times when her husband’s blood sugar spiked to unhealthy levels.
Jasso later said in an interview the detention center does serve those who have diabetic needs and that he is in the process of acquiring a copy of the menu from the center’s caterer, Aramark.
“We have a medical department and we have medical officers even assigned to that department,” he said. Several of the allegations from the families and in turn, the American Civil Liberties Union’s letter to the commission, concerned medication not being administered properly and the lack of a proper diet for diabetics.
Another allegation made by the ACLU in its July letter to the commission detailed unsanitary conditions and sewage problems within the cells. During the interview with the coalition of parents, siblings and wives of inmates, several described horror stories they had heard from those incarcerated, such as being supplied with inadequate supplies to clean rest room facilities, sickening smells of human excrement backing up into cells and a lack of sanitary tissue.
“The only time we’ve had the sewer back up is when inmates flush down kits or uniforms,” Jasso said. In July, an inmate was charged with purposefully clogging a drain to make it backup. “That’s the only time we’ve had incidents; the inmates caused it to do that.”
He did say he knows that in the past, issues with the toilet were “overlooked.”
“As we speak, they’re getting revisited and getting fixed,” he explained. “By next week, we should have toilets that will pass their standards.”
The complaints regarding air conditioning have also been addressed, he said. He said after some issues with the air conditioning company, the machines are installed and running.
In stark contrast to previous administrations, the detention center is making an effort to get information out. Facility officials are currently in the process of drafting a public service announcement to inform the public on ways to get more information about the facility, including details on inmates. A new phone system is also online to help ensure smoother operations.
“I welcome anybody that wants to talk to me,” he said.
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