Long stays in pre-trial detention strain Philadelphia prisons
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An inmate who assaulted a corrections officer last weekend has been in a Philly jail for more than five years awaiting trial on a murder charge.
The big picture: Long stays in pre-trial detention are common in a city prison system that's suffering from a slew of problems, including staffing shortfalls and alleged inhumane conditions.
- The average length of stay in city jails is 113 days over the past year and the pre-trial detention population accounts for 9 in 10 inmates, a Prisons Department spokesperson tells Axios.
Driving the news: Tarrell Rister is accused of assaulting a 51-year-old corrections officer at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on Sunday, the Prisons Department confirms.
Context: Rister was charged with murder and gun offenses in December 2017, per court documents.
- A mistrial was declared in his case in 2022. His jury trial is slated for May.
Catch up quick: Rister is accused of attacking the corrections officer during lock up, according to FOX29.
- The officer was knocked unconscious and suffered broken bones in the face, per FOX29.
- The officer remains in hospital in critical but stable condition, per the department.
By the numbers: The city is housing more than 4,200 adult men and approximately 330 adult women in its jails, per the city's online database.
- The top two longest-serving inmates in city jails have been incarcerated for more than seven years, per the department.
- Meanwhile, at least eight other inmates have been there between four and six years.
Between the lines: Long stays in pre-trial detention can have negative effects on physical and psychological well-being, recent research indicates.
Zoom out: Pennsylvania is a speedy-trial state, where trial for an incarcerated person is required within 180 days.
- Yes, but: Postponements can push that timeline back.
Plus: Pre-trial detention has been rising in Philadelphia due to a backlog of cases that piled up during the pandemic, Kim Ramirez, a member of the city's independent Prison Advisory Board, tells Axios.
What they're saying: Thomas Innes, director of prison advocacy at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, tells Axios that appalling conditions combined with the lack of movement by inmates is creating a violent situation.
- "The jails up on State Road are a whole series of pressure cookers that are about to spill over at any given time," he says.
John Mitchell, a spokesperson for the Prisons Department, tells Axios that increases in pretrial detention periods causes the overall prison population to swell, further frustrating inmates.
- "A larger and more frustrated incarcerated population has an understandably stressful effect on the general prison environment, a negative effect for guards and incarcerated persons alike," he says.
Of note: District Attorney Larry Krasner's office did not return requests for comment.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the average length of stay in city jails is 113 days (not 234 days).