Criminal Justice

Upon leaving custody, ServSafe-certified participants are qualified to apply for jobs at restaurants, grocery stores and other food service companies.

Mensah, the former vice-chair of the city's Detention Facilities Oversight Board, faces resisting arrest and trespassing charges and claims they were beaten unconscious by police while waiting to access the St. Louis City Justice Center in August 2023. A jury trial is tentatively scheduled for May 12.

The inmate was found unresponsive after being treated for suspected seizures one day before the death. The City Justice Center has had three times as many deaths as similar jails in Kansas City and St. Louis County since 2020.

Interim Commissioner Doug Burris sat down with STLPR reporter Lacretia Wimbley to discuss how he’s navigating his new role amid public scrutiny and pending lawsuits against the St. Louis City Justice Center.

Many of the St. Louis nonprofit’s clients are veterans who have spent at least 10 years in state prison. One case manager at the nonprofit is helping others land on their feet, just as he was helped through the program.

The national investigative outlet announced the opening of a St. Louis branch focused on uncovering problems in the criminal justice system in the bi-state area.

The Rev. Darryl Gray said he is more hopeful for reform after a recent conversation with Commissioner of Corrections Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah.

St. Louis corrections chief Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah has returned after an unexplained three-month leave, and the former head of St. Louis County’s jail is working to assess and recommend fixes to the city jail.

Nearly 100 protesters and activists disrupted a city Board of Aldermen meeting on Friday, calling for immediate changes to the St. Louis City Justice Center, where 18 people in custody have died since 2020.

City public safety officials say their reporting of jail deaths earlier this year excluded one person because that individual was arrested but not considered a detainee at the city jail.