WA juvenile detention crisis forces inmates into adult prisons

Four weeks ago, Caya Lenay was being celebrated by DCYF for earning a degree while behind bars. Now, he’s in an adult prison along with 10 classmates, due to a lack of space in juvenile detention.

SEATTLE - Four weeks ago, Caya Lenay was being celebrated by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) for earning a degree while behind bars. Today, he’s in an adult prison along with ten of his classmates, after DCYF moved them to Department of Correction facilities ahead of their scheduled release date to clear space.

A total of 43 young adults were moved late last week amid a crisis at DCYF. Green Hill, the state’s youth facility for its older juveniles, was 30% over its recommended capacity last week.

Earlier this month, DCYF announced that they would no longer take new inmates at either Echo Gleen, its facility for the state’s youngest offenders, or Green Hill – where Lenay was located.

"Why should this fall on our shoulders?" Lenay asked over a phone call with FOX 13 News. "They neglected to find a solution to the overcrowding and those situations they agreed to. So, I don’t think that should fall on our shoulders."

The frustration voiced by Lenay has been echoed in numerous conversations between family members of the young adults moved, and FOX 13 News this week.

Caya Lenay in mid-June after receiving a diploma during a ceremony at Green Hill, a medium/maximum security juvenile detention facility located in Lewis County.

Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) Deputy Secretary Sean Murphy told FOX 13 News that they had worked on the transfer for a few days before the move, but it came out of left field for inmates.

Inmates at Green Hill were rounded up, cuffed and eventually strip-searched before being moved without phone calls to parents, or lawyers.

"There’s significant security risks involved in permitting folks to make phone calls," said Murphy. "The men were asked to come out of their cell, they were placed in a restraint and taken to another location so they could be searched."

Lawyers with Columbia Legal Services have argued that the denial of a phone call is the first of many issues.

Five years ago, the state changed juvenile rehabilitation within Washington state with the "JR-to-25" law. It allows youth who have been incarcerated for serious childhood crimes to remain in juvenile facilities until they turn 25 years old.

Two years ago, DCYF was sued for a pattern of transfers ahead of inmates’ 25th birthdays, which led to a settlement agreement which required a review board, notice of transfer and contact with a lawyer ahead of any movement.

"Those are due process requirements that apply," said Sarah Nagy, an attorney with Columbia Legal Services. "That’s what all of these youth should have had, and none of them got any of that."

Nagy filed an injunction to send the 43 young adults back to Green Hill. A judge will hear the case Friday morning. The team is calling for the move to take place within seven days.

DCYF plans to defend its actions, and a spokesperson told FOX 13 that they did not follow the due processes laid out in their settlement agreement. However, they argue that this was a special circumstance that didn’t require it.

"The internal review board process that’s in place is really about individual behavior and individual incidences," said Allison Krutsinger, a DCYF public affairs director. "This transfer was really looking at the conditions of the entire facility and the entire JR population, and was made under a made under the decision was made under a different set of justification around entire conditions of the entire facility and the safety of safety and security."

It's unclear what other steps might be taken. FOX 13 News has learned that at least one county prosecutor has informed the DCYF Secretary that dozens of Green Hill residents that were convicted of prison riots while in a DCYF facility are eligible to be transferred.

Instead, it appears the state made its decision based on age — each of the 43 young adults moved were over the age of 18, and would have eventually been pushed into DOC facilities by age 25.

Lenay said it’s frustrating because he bought into the state’s call to rehabilitate teens and young adults within the juvenile facility. The governor and legislators made it a point that people his age needed the services offered through juvenile rehabilitation services, services that he bought into, only to be forced out.

"I feel like we all should have had that opportunity to have a hearing, to present who we are, and to talk about our accomplishments," said Lenay.