St. Louis Justice Center

The family of Samuel Hayes Jr., a 31-year-old who died at the St. Louis City Justice Center on Saturday evening, says he wasn’t resisting arrest when he was put in a restraint chair.

Four St. Louis arts organizations are collaborating with St. Louis County’s Department of Justice Services to test a program offering violin or piano lessons to some incarcerated at the jail. Organizers say playing music can build life skills and help prepare inmates for life after release.

The $7 million project installed new locks and mesh on the windows, in addition to securing guard workstations.

St. Louis Public Safety officials say up to $19.5 million might be necessary to fix and upgrade the St. Louis City Justice Center locks, doors, control panels and other security measures.

Several members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen are criticizing the city’s plan to close the Medium Security Institution known as the Workhouse in coming weeks. Some expressed concerns that moving inmates from the Workhouse to the St. Louis City Justice Center could lead to overcrowding.

Attorneys claim in a lawsuit that corrections officers regularly abused three current and former inmates at the St. Louis City Justice Center. The federal lawsuit filed Monday claims that City Justice Center staff violated the constitutional rights of the inmates by using tear gas on them and depriving them of water.

St. Louis Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass will resign from his position on June 1, following months of criticism over the management and condition of the city's jails.

St. Louis Public Safety officials say they plan to hire a new food service to prepare meals for inmates at the City Justice Center. Leaders say this is one of the first steps in addressing repeated complaints about the jail.

Since late December, five protests have erupted at the Justice Center in downtown St. Louis. This latest came Sunday night, when a group of detainees broke windows on the third floor and threw objects out the windows. Inmates could be heard chanting, “We need help” and “We want court dates.”

Inmates at the St. Louis Justice Center on Sunday night broke out of their cells, broke windows and demanded court dates that have been delayed for months by the pandemic. It was the second time in two months that inmates hacked the jail's locks.