THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9411300191
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
A federal jury awarded $90,000 last week to one of two South Norfolk men who were raped and brutally beaten by fellow inmates in a crowded cellblock at Chesapeake City Jail on Dec. 8, 1992.
After listening to lurid descriptions of the savagery that took place in the jail's T-block that morning, the jury determined that the deputy on duty was negligent.
Sheriff John R. Newhart, who is responsible for the operation of the jail, insisted at the time that proper procedures were being followed when the attacks took place. Apparently, the jury thought otherwise.
According to testimony, the guard drank coffee and read a newspaper, ignoring the victims' desperate cries for help.
Jail isn't supposed to be a pleasant place, but no civilized person expects it to be the kind of snake pit that was described during last week's trial. Jailers, not prisoners, should be in control of what happens there.
The impressive new jail now under construction near City Hall has been touted as a state-of-the-art facility, the utmost in modern penal institutions. Ultimately, though, the quality of the jail will have more to do with the people who run it than with the architecture. by CNB