Justin Douglas
Appearances
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
After almost 40 years as DCP's medical contractor, PrimeCare finally has some competition. Earlier this year, the county commissioners opened up a call for proposals. They received five. Do you think that there is a mindset shift now in Dauphin County that whoever gets this contract, there needs to be more scrutiny on how the contract is carried out?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
It was a situation with a lot of similarities to cases I'd reported on at DCP. Cases that had ended with COs using force, or with inmates not receiving appropriate care. Or even worse, with an inmate dying in custody. This time, the COs had calmed the situation down, and the prison board was shouting that out.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Once you have this all together, what impact should this audit have and how will that actually happen in your book?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
One person in Dauphin County who's eroded public trust? County Coroner Graham Hetrick. He's up for reelection this year. Will he be voted into office for a 10th term? Or will the public finally hold him accountable? Back in March, Graham Hetrick was in the hot seat. The Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg opened up their gymnasium to host a pre-election public forum.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Voters were invited to ask questions to candidates in Dauphin County elections. More than one community member asked Graham about his work on cases at DCP and his opinion on prime care.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
And it's up to those people who run that prison to say, well, we shouldn't have somebody having hypothermia. That's not my job. Graham's campaign, thoughts on the likelihood that Graham will lose or thoughts that he will stay in office?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Lamont, what has the response been to your mayoral campaign? And if you're elected mayor, what would that change about your ability to enact change on the ground?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
At this point in your political career, Justin, I'm curious how your experience thus far in elected office has changed how you think of your career trajectory. What do you see your next steps or big goals or how has the past year in office impacted those future plans?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
The prison board named each staffer involved in the incident, the COs on duty, and the medical staff who assessed the inmate. And they also presented each of them with a letter of commendation.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
I'm going to flip this a little bit. What questions do you guys have for me or do you have any questions for me?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
A couple years ago, the months and months of reporting on prison deaths really started getting to me. I started having panic attacks. My heart would start racing. I would get agitated. It was really scary. I even checked myself into the ER once. I've been able to get my anxiety under control, but I've talked about it pretty openly, including in my reporting.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Yeah, I mean, it's heavy. And I mean, I very much for quite a while was not dealing with it. Like I was okay until I wasn't okay. And like I was having heart palpitations, flipping out, panic attack, and genuinely thought that I was dying. So I was in the hospital.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
You just feel a responsibility to the people, which weighs on you. And then with like several years of just living in that space of like reading autopsies and talking to people like, I mean, just get your head in that. And again, I was OK until I wasn't OK. I think I've gotten a lot better, got a lot better of how to deal with it.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
I always want to walk the line of like that trauma is real and we need to deal with it, but never try to act like the vicarious trauma that I deal with is anything compared to like the trauma that, you know, like Nicole Banks or, you know, your family or Jamal Cromwell's family or anybody else deals with, with losing someone.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
What gives me anxiety is, am I doing justice to the people who are actually impacted by it? That's the stuff that absolutely keeps me up at night. It's not just, you know, names on a page like these are human beings. There are families. And then when they're calling me, they're there.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
This was the first time in my three years of attending prison board meetings that I could remember hearing prison staff being commended for de-escalation. It was just one moment, a recognition of something that should have been happening all along. But to me, it spoke volumes about how public scrutiny and pressure from Justin Douglas just might be changing the culture at DCP.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
It's just not a job. I mean, it's more. One of the things that gives me hope as a journalist is seeing local reporters doing this kind of work to expose corruption in jails and the fact that there's an audience and a desire to hear the stories like this that promise change. Do you find that there's a growing interest among community members and constituents to see change happen at the local level?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Do you guys ever get together outside of DCP? Are you friends or do you only hang out whenever the power goes out inside of the chair?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Follow Death County PA on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
If you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to us at wondery.com slash tips. From Wondery and PennLive, this is a special episode of Death County PA. Death County PA is written and reported by me, Joshua Vaughn. Producer is Rachel Yong. Senior producer is Chris Siegel. Associate producer is Emily Locke. Fact-checking by Annika Robbins.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Sound design and mixing by Jay Rothman. Sound supervisor is Marcelino Villalpando. Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freesun Sync. Senior managing producer is Lutta Pandya. Managing producers are Heather Beloga and Matt Gant. Senior Development Editor is Rachel B. Doyle. Development Producer is Olivia Weber. Executive Producers for Advanced Local are Richard Diamond and Selena Roberts.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Executive Producers are Nigeri Eaton, George Lavender, Marshall Louis, and Jen Sargent for Wondery.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Of course, that doesn't mean the work is over, especially for Justin and Lamont. Justin is now the chair of the commissioners, giving him new responsibilities and more authority to make changes in the county. When we recorded this episode, Lamont was in the middle of his mayoral campaign, just weeks away from the primary. And there aren't any Republican candidates on the ballot.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
So if Lamont wins the primary, he's almost guaranteed to win the mayoral seat. The three of us sat down to talk about what's next for Dauphin County Prison and for each of them. From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn, and this is a special episode of Death County PA.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Another Dauphin County prison board meeting. Community members and prison staff file into the hearing room at DCP. Everyone takes their seats. Commissioners sit at a table facing the audience. Cameras are set up to live stream the meeting. That's how I joined. Business as usual.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
I won't lie, it wasn't easy to get Justin and Lamont in the same room at the same time. They are incredibly busy guys. But it was important to me that the three of us sit down together to reflect on everything that's happened over these years of reporting and to get them talking to each other about what changes are ahead for Dauphin County.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
We got a chance to all sit down together in a PennLive conference room. When was the last time each of you went down the DCP and why were you there?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
The other, obviously the big news that came out through the reporting and through this whole process of this podcast is Jeff haste and all the things that have come up from there. Is there anyone else that you might be turning your attention to or efforts in the County that you're able to talk about?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Today, the county commissioners have earmarked time to discuss the way prison staff handled an emergency situation with an inmate. The incident had occurred about a month earlier. An inmate wasn't cooperating with corrections officers and started making physical threats toward them. I'd seen the prison board discuss incidents like this in the past. But this time, something was different.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Late last year, PennLive's reporting uncovered that former County Commissioner Jeff Haste had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the then owner of PrimeCare. The case is under investigation. No charges have been made yet. But it definitely raised some concerns for Justin and others in the county.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
So I want to turn to some of the specific changes at DCP. Obviously, mental health crisis leading to really bad outcomes. That happened in Tyreek's case. That happened in Ishmael. That happened for Jamal.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
I know there had been shared at the last prison board meeting about an incident that happened at the jail that might be a good sign of some things that are coming or maybe a potential change in mindset or how things operate at DCP. Can you talk to me a little bit about what happened there?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
I'm curious, Lamont, from your perspective, I mean, how do you feel about just hearing that a situation like this happened compared to, you know, the way things operated when you were there and the way things seem to have been operating for such a long period of time?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
What would things look like if another death occurred at DCP today? What's the best possible outcome? And what do you think still needs to be changed to get us to whatever the best possible outcome is?
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
Warden Gregory Briggs described that the COs on duty had de-escalated the situation. Instead of going hands-on with the inmate, they saw that he was experiencing a mental health crisis. They brought in medical staff to assess him. They spent an hour strategizing how to communicate with him. And in the end, they got him the care he needed.
Death County, PA
Trust Exercise | 7
For Lamont, dealing with the aftermath of a family member who died at DCP constantly reinforces the work he's doing. Tyreek Riley's family is still seeking justice. Their lawsuit against the corrections officers involved in the use of force against Tyreek is still waiting to proceed. And they recently filed a motion to reinstate prime care as a defendant in the suit.
Death County, PA
Exposing the Wound | 6
This is a pattern of self-service, not public service. Listen, I didn't come here to profit off my seat. I'll tell you that. And I don't care if I lose this seat in three years because I confronted the power brokers of Dauphin County. I could care less. If you're a part of this, step aside now because the gig is up. The corrupt system will crumble.
Death County, PA
Exposing the Wound | 6
And Jeff Hays, as I know you're probably watching, with these large sums of money from Carl Hoffman and your blatant betrayal of the people, maybe it's time you voluntarily forfeit your pension and finally put the people of Dauphin County first.
Death County, PA
Exposing the Wound | 6
They've been with the county since 1988. No market comparison, no RFP. Ask almost anyone about the issues that plagued Dauphin County Prison, and medical neglect is at the top. Medical requests ignored, sometimes with tragic outcomes. Every single person in this county should be outraged.
Death County, PA
Exposing the Wound | 6
Ripping off this bandage and exposing this wound is going to be painful. And some won't have the stomach for it. but it's the only way forward.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Justin Douglas was spending Tuesday evening at a sports bar with a few close friends. We were at Mr. G's Bar and Grill there. Mr. G's is just off the highway, where you would go on a Sunday to watch the Philadelphia Eagles.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
And as he stood there at Mr. G's watching the returns come in, something surprising was happening. Justin started pulling ahead.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
But Justin was about to learn the hard way that there's a major difference between running a campaign and running the county. In Death County, PA, Lamont Jones is fighting to uncover the truth about his cousin's death in Dolphin County Prison. But standing in his way is a reality TV corner and a system built on secrets.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
If you're captivated by stories of betrayal and cover-ups, you should check out Wondery's podcast, Exposed. This series reveals the horrifying crimes of Dr. Robert Haddon, an Ivy League OBGYN who assaulted hundreds of patients while the system protected him.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
From the prestigious halls of Columbia University to the courtrooms where survivors finally got their day in court, this is a story of power, accountability, and the courage it takes to fight back. Follow Exposed on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Exposed exclusively and ad-free right now on Wondery+.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Start your free trial in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Justin Douglas was preparing to take office, and he wasn't exactly getting a warm reception from his new colleagues.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin wanted to hit the ground running as a commissioner. When he got an email that his official badge was ready, he couldn't wait to go pick it up. He drove into downtown Harrisburg to the county offices, walked past the statue of a cow out front, headed inside the brick building, and took the elevator to the fourth floor to pick up his badge. That had my name on it.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The badge was just a piece of plastic. The county offices weren't ready for Justin, and it sure seemed like they weren't in any rush to get there.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin had won the election. When he was sworn in and finally got his official badge, he got started.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
But as promised, DCP was one of Justin's top priorities. He wanted to prevent inmate deaths and improve conditions. I asked him how he was going to do that. based on what you've learned up until now, why are there cell deaths and what are some ways that we can actually stop them?
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Staffing, for one thing. Justin said DCP was woefully understaffed. It needed more COs. If we're properly staffed, people can actually get outside in our prison.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin was thinking about improving the quality of food at DCP, investing in better pest control, auditing prime care, Justin said he was ready to see big changes in the way commissioners respond to community questions and criticism.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
When Justin heard about the blackout in the hole, it was another reminder of what this fight was going to be. But he knew that he and Lamont Jones were ready for that fight.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
When Lamont went into the jail to run his programs, he made sure folks inside DCP knew this guy's name. and that Justin was on their side.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Almost immediately, Justin started going to the jail in an official capacity.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
When the administration and COs had shut the power off in the hole, Justin and Lamont weren't in office yet. But that summer, the lights would go out again at DCP. This time, Justin and Lamont would find themselves in the middle of a full blown crisis. It was a Friday afternoon.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin was ready to spend the weekend with his family, to not think about Dauphin County politics for just a couple days. And then, he got a message from someone on his staff.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The power was out at DCP. But unlike what Don and Taji experienced in the hole, this wasn't intentional. A utility worker had been digging and accidentally severed a power line. But it was hot, and no power not only meant no lights, it also meant no AC.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
They got a backup generator to the jail. But then Justin found out the backup generator wasn't working. Justin knew there were folks at DCP trying to fix the problem when he went to bed that night.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
A few people from his campaign joined him outside. He was watching the last precincts report their totals. And then he saw it.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The next morning, Saturday, Justin woke up thinking the power probably was up and running by now. How could it not be?
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The temperature was forecasted to rise to almost 90 degrees in Harrisburg. If the power didn't come on, people in DCP could get heat stroke. Justin couldn't wait any longer. He needed to do more than just get updates. So he called Lamont and they drove over to the jail to see what was really going on. To be clear, this wasn't a requirement of Justin as a county commissioner.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
And for Lamont, this had nothing to do with his position on city council. But they saw a situation where people needed help. When they arrived, the backup generator was finally working after almost 24 hours without power. They both breathed a little sigh of relief, but they wanted to see how everyone was doing.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Even though the power was on, the AC hadn't caught up. And the heat wasn't the only problem. Because this was an emergency situation, the COs had been working overtime.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
By the time Justin and Lamont arrived, the situation was becoming dangerous.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The COs ended up moving some of the inmates out of the hottest blocks. relocating them to newer blocks with better ventilation.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Four people were sent to the hospital. Thankfully, no one died. But these were the conditions when a bad situation could spiral into a lethal one. Eventually, the temperature inside the jail started to cool down.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin and Lamont were preparing to leave. They did a final round and talked to a few more inmates and COs. Justin couldn't help but notice that some individuals who he wanted to see just weren't there.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Justin and Lamont had been at the jail for eight or nine hours. And in that time, they didn't encounter any senior administrators. While the COs were required to work past the end of their shifts, jail administrators opted to leave. The warden did stay late during the first night the power was out, but he didn't come back until after Justin asked for prison admin to report to DCP.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The DCP administration were county employees directly under Justin's oversight. Lamont could tell just how seriously Justin took that responsibility.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The next day, Justin drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was going there for a conference with other county commissioners from across the state. The topic, courts and corrections.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
All the votes had been counted. And I was ahead by 42. 42 votes. Justin ended up getting a tattoo of that number on the underside of his right wrist. Slim or not, to Justin, it was proof. His message had landed. People were on board with jail reform.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
When he arrived at DCP, it was dinner time. Justin snapped into helper mode.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Eventually, the power came back on, and Justin was able to go back to his conference. We asked DCP about the power outage, and they said the administration's exceptional coordination and execution were instrumental in mitigating the crisis effectively. It was clear to Justin, for Dauphin County Prison to treat inmates more humanely, it was going to take a lot more than just wanting to do better.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
And to reach those higher standards, the county would have to exercise some demons from its past.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
That's on the next and final episode of Death County PA. Follow Death County PA on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
If you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to us at wondery.com slash tips. From Wondery and PennLive, this is episode five of six of Death County PA. If you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to us at wondery.com forward slash tips. Death County PA is written and reported by me, Joshua Vaughn. Producer is Rachel Yong.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Senior producers are Eric Benson and Chris Siegel. Story editor is Michael May. Associate producer is Emily Locke. Fact-checking by Annika Robbins. Sound design and mixing by Jeff Schmidt. Audio assistance by Daniel William Gonzalez. Sound supervisor is Marcelino Villalpando. Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freesun Sync. Senior managing producer is Lutta Pandya.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Managing producers are Heather Beloga and Matt Gant. Senior development editor is Rachel B. Doyle. Development producer is Olivia Weber. Executive producers for Advanced Local are Richard Diamond and Selena Roberts. Executive producers are Nigeri Eaton, George Lavender, Marshall Louis, and Jen Sargent for Wondery.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
But the excitement and energy would quickly shift to horror. Because while Justin was celebrating his victory, corrections officers and jail administrators were taking punishment at Dauphin County Prison to a whole new level. From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn. This is Death County, PA.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Lamont Jones had first met Justin Douglas during their campaigns, and they quickly recognized they shared a common mission.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
On election night, Lamont was at a community meeting at a Quaker church in uptown Harrisburg. But he was still checking his phone, keeping tabs on the returns. When he saw that Justin had won, he did something that might have come off as a bit rude.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
In Justin, Lamont saw someone who would fight alongside him for values they both believed in. They were in it together.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Lamont's own election had been a foregone conclusion. He had won the Democratic primary in May and was running unopposed in the general election, which meant as he was congratulating Justin, he didn't even need to look at his own vote tally. He was already a city councilman elect, but that didn't mean he would be able to join city council without a fight.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
They've got decent bar food and a pretty extensive beer list, although Justin doesn't drink. This evening, however, the crowd wasn't gathered for a game. We were watching the poll results come in. Justin's day of truth was finally here.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Two voters filed a lawsuit on the grounds that Lamont's criminal past should keep him from continuing his campaign. Pennsylvania law forbids anyone convicted of, quote, infamous crimes from holding public office. Judges have long interpreted infamous crimes to include felonies. Lamont had a felony record going back to his days as a drug dealer.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Lamont's argument worked. He was able to stay on the ballot. But that only bought him a few months. Those felony convictions were still on his record and would still keep him from being sworn in. But Lamont had a plan for that too. He had applied for a pardon, which he hoped would wipe those felonies clean off his record. He'd been rejected several years earlier.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
But it takes a while for a pardon to go through. And Lamont was running out of time. As the process unfolded, Lamont was getting promising signs.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Then he got the news. He had a pardon hearing scheduled for the day before the general election. It was at the state capitol building.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Lamont was feeling pretty confident. The pardon board seemed to think he had a good case. And now they seemed impressed he'd managed to win his city council race. But nothing is ever straightforward when it comes to overcoming your criminal record. And so, the pardon board said there was just one more thing. Lamont had $10,000 in outstanding fees from one of his previous court cases.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
After months of worrying about campaign strategy, his meager budget, juggling his many jobs, and talking about prison reform nonstop, it was the night of the election, November 7th, 2023, and the polls had closed in Dauphin County. Justin had entered the county commissioner race a big underdog. He barely made it onto the news, and to be honest, I didn't think he had a chance.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
I kind of felt extorted in that regard. It was a lot of money. Lamont didn't have a choice. Between what he had and crowdfunding the rest, he was able to pay the $10,000. About 10 days before he was scheduled to be sworn in, Lamont got the news. He was pardoned. How did that feel?
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Come January 2nd, Lamont and Justin would both get sworn in and get to work. At the same time Justin Douglas and Lamont Jones were in the closing phases of their campaign, an inmate at DCP named Don Simmers found himself in a rough spot, the hole. or what DCP calls restrictive housing, the place the jail sent inmates it wanted to punish for one reason or another.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
While in DCP, Don was caught with some contraband, so it was off to the hole. Don was led downstairs to the three rows of cells. He was searched before being placed in his cell. All he was allowed to take with him were his clothes and paperwork. The hole was a pretty hellish place. It was so noisy, you could barely get any sleep.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The out of control was in the air, literally. There was smoke everywhere. Somehow, the guys in the hole were getting their hands on a lot of synthetic marijuana, K2. And because there was pretty much nothing else to do, they were smoking constantly.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The smoke was wafting from the cells and in the halls. It had an impact on staffing. Some corrections officers tried to avoid the hole and the smoke that came with it. But eventually, the smoke was getting so bad there, they felt they had to intervene.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
The COs would turn the cells upside down looking for marijuana. But the smoking didn't stop. And the COs were getting more and more frustrated. So the shakedowns escalated.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Paperwork at DCP is important. It could be privileged information that's not meant for anyone else to see other than the client and attorney. Losing access to their paperwork could have an impact on their case. The COs had also taken the jail-issued tablets from the inmates in the hole.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
That meant no access to religious texts, any entertainment, and all communications to and from the outside world. So friends and family outside of DCP had no idea what was going on. It ended up coming down to it was in a uniform and one blanket. But none of that worked. Somehow the inmates in the hole were still getting synthetic marijuana.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Inmates and former staff at DCP have reported that staff were the ones bringing the drugs and other contraband in. When the COs realized that they were using the lights and outlets in the cell to spark up, the jail leadership tried a new tactic. They cut the power completely. That meant the lights stayed off, and there wasn't heat in the cells either.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
But after nine months of door knocking at campaign events, Justin had started to believe that maybe, just maybe, it was possible.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
It was December in central Pennsylvania, and with only a thin uniform and blanket to protect them after the shakedowns, the people down in the hole were at risk of hypothermia.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Without light, without heat, it was even worse. Don and the other people in that block had nothing. All he could do was sit in his cell and wait.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
When Don was sitting in his cell in the cold and darkness, nobody on the outside had a clue about what was going on. I didn't either, although I'd heard some rumors from family members. When I asked the jail about those rumors, they didn't tell me anything. Then, one afternoon, I got a phone call.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
Taji Abdullah is in his mid-20s. He had been in DCP for about a year and a half, waiting for trial on gun charges. I knew he had been in the hole recently after talking to his mother. So, I asked him about those rumors.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
That caught me off guard. Turning off the lights and electricity for any amount of days feels wrong. But 17? That feels like torture. I had heard horror stories about DCP, but this was on a whole different level. This incident is now the center of a class action lawsuit against Dauphin County Prison. I ended up talking with about 10 other people who were in the hole when the electricity was cut.
Death County, PA
Lights Out | 5
They all said similar things. I wanted to get this story in the paper. I wondered if the impact would be different now. For years, the county commissioners had been happy to keep the public in the dark about DCP. Now, Justin had been elected commissioner and he had campaigned to end the neglect and suffering at DCP.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
The house was packed because we were really only supposed to fit about 100 people in that room. And I remember it being overflow down to the stairs to the foyer of people that wanted to be a part of that conversation.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
There was an open kind of popcorn, does anyone have any comments to make?
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I don't know that I remember the first time we met. We've been in the same circles for a while.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I thought the idea of him getting elected would be pretty amazing to see someone who was formerly incarcerated be a city councilman.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I was amazed how much of the community turned out for his event. Like, he just had such a pulse on the community and people were listening when he was talking. At one point, while Lamont was talking, he turned to Justin. And then I remember him being like, hey, Justin, you got to come share a quick second about your campaign. And I was just like, dude, you don't owe me anything.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
Like, he hadn't endorsed me. I hadn't endorsed him. But I think he was just really inviting. And I think Lamont has the ability to bring people together.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
They shared experiences about how they can't talk to their family because they've been kicked out of their house. They're not safe around their family. And they found a family at the bridge, and it would be a deep consequence to lose that. The Kleenexes were out. It was very moving. And then it was time for a vote.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
Hi, my name is Justin Douglas. I'm running for Dauphin County Commissioner. Good to meet you today. I'd love to talk to you about why I chose to run.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I would say, I don't know if you're aware, but we've had 18 prisoners die in Dauphin County Prison in the last four years since the last time you voted for county commissioners.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I think that's unacceptable, and I think we need to remedy that.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I think there is a good old boys club network in Dauphin County. And my estimation is he was one of the people at the top of that. He was definitely aligned with very powerful people. It seems as if he had personal relationships with just about every vendor in the county.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
They'd tell him, Can't run on prison reform. No one will vote for you. And so we just were like, we're going to do what we're going to do and we'll lose, I guess.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
There was definitely doors I knocked on where it was like, well, that's what they deserve.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
And I just remember like, I think it was a Saturday and I had a whole strategy and plan for how many doors I was gonna knock. And I just didn't wanna get out of bed. I was so exhausted and I just felt like, what am I doing?
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
The language of the vote was if we wanted to be an inclusive and welcoming community of the LGBT community.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
Pretty much I had to do something big to get people's attention.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
We had multiple strategists tell us our billboard was a bad idea and a waste of money.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
When this came, we were like, this is going to be like 40% of our budget. We've got one shot. Like, this was kind of like, you know, your Eminem moment, if you will. You know what I mean? Mom's spaghetti. So, Justin came up with his message. We went with very big, bold letters. 18 prisoners dead since 2019. Vote for change on November 7th.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I felt deeply, and I think most of my team did, that if we lost, we could at least say we educated a large amount of Dauphin County on a problem of prisoner deaths and that we would have a more educated voter base for the future.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I started getting texts from people like, oh, I saw your billboard. And what's funny is the smallest thing on the billboard is my face and my name.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
And so if anything, that meeting really solidified us. Like after that meeting, it was very clear who we were, what we were going to do, and where we were
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I was out the door at 5 a.m. probably in my office, preparing, going over my notes for my sermon.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
They revoked his license. They had somebody else ready to come in and lead. They had poached one of my staff members to come in and take over the church to try to pull that power back. which was just really painful. And I went overnight from a salary, a parsonage, security, to nothing. All staff resigned in protest to their decision that they made.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
And they took everything, all the way down to guitar cables, laptops, bank accounts, properties. They took it all.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
They were loyal to Justin. And the very next Sunday after that, we started a new church. The board reassembled under a new banner called the Belong Collective.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I coached at the time at CrossFit Hershey. So I coached the 515 class in the morning, 630 class, worked out during the window of time.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
Unrecognized number. Typically, just let it go to voicemail. Move on. I don't know. I was feeling froggy. I was like, we're going to answer this and talk to this telemarketer. And it was someone from Run for Something kind of cold calling me.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
So much of our county government is people who have been in those positions for a long period of time and a new perspective could be helpful.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
And I began to kind of research and I realized, oh shoot, they oversee the prison.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
Like the idea of someone in our prison freezing to death, you know, that I think was like... What's going on? How does our county not have the infrastructure or our prison system not have the infrastructure to ensure that we have temperature control?
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I'm a little bit of, like, a data nerd in some ways. Like, I went and started Googling, like, what does death in custody look like on a national scale or on even, like, a Pennsylvania scale? Justin came across a news report from 2019. In looking at that, it became clear that, like, based on the numbers per thousand, DCP was over double the national average.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
And that was like, how is this happening right in my backyard? You know what I mean?
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
I think we had like 10 days to get all the signatures we needed. And it poured down rain for like, seemed like 10 days. And we were just out in the rain, door to door, knocking, getting signatures, me and other volunteers. And we got the signatures we needed to get on the ballot. And then it was like, oh, well, let's see what happens.
Death County, PA
One Billboard Outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 4
We had advertised that we were going to come together, talk about who we are as a community, who we've been from our beginning, and take a vote for where people feel like we're gonna go.