The family of a 40-year-old from St. Paul who died at the Rush City prison this month called on Thursday for transparency and accountability from the Minnesota Department of Corrections and other agencies.
Stephen Washington’s death on Oct. 9 remains under investigation. Preliminary information is that he “and his cellmate were involved in a dispute that ultimately turned violent,” said Shannon Loehrke, DOC communications director.
Alissa Washington, cousin of Stephen Washington and executive director of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council-Minnesota, said Thursday that her family doesn’t “have clear answers about what happened to him, how he was housed, who his cellmate was, what risk assessments were done and what red flags were missed.”
She called on DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell to release the full timeline of events, housing decisions, incident and investigation reports, and “any video footage that can illustrate what happened to Stephen.”
“The safety of those individuals housed in DOC facilities remains our priority,” Schnell said in a statement Thursday. “The death of Mr. Washington is tragic, and we await the findings of the investigation to fully understand what motivated this incident.”
The DOC’s Office of Special Investigations is working on the case along with the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. When it’s finalized, the case will be submitted to the Chisago County Attorney’s Office for review and consideration of criminal charges, Loehrke said.
The subject of the investigation has been transferred to the state’s maximum security facility in Oak Park Heights and is in administrative segregation pending completion of the investigation, according to Loehrke.
Advocate: Prisons have ‘responsibility’ for those inside
Washington was a father, an entrepreneur and loved football, which he played at Minneapolis’ Edison High School, said Alissa Washington. He most recently lived with his aunt in St. Paul.
“He was only 40 years old,” his cousin said. “… We had a lot more years with each other. He was coming home soon.”
He was sentenced in December to 2¾ years in prison, with credit for 173 days already served, for domestic assault in Hubbard County.
Washington was also sentenced in March to 2½ years in prison, with credit for 271 days served, for third-degree assault at the Ramsey County jail. A correctional officer heard Washington and another inmate arguing in their cell. The other man walked away and said he wasn’t going to fight Washington, according to a criminal complaint.
The correctional officer opened the door to prevent an incident and tried to remove the other inmate from the cell. The officer saw Washington “sucker punch” the man from behind, knocking him to the ground, after which he punched him multiple times in the face, the complaint said.
Regardless of why a person is incarcerated, prisons “have a very clear and simple responsibility to those inside of their walls,” said Vash Lamp of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee. “… Just because someone is serving a sentence does not make them less than human and undeserving of basic human rights, such as safety.”
Fundraising is underway on GoFundMe for Washington’s funeral.
“The facility that is responsible for his needless death has determined that they are only responsible for covering about $1,500” of the funeral costs, Lamp said.
The DOC provides assistance to cover basic funeral or cremation expenses, Loehrke said.
Became cellmates day of death
Alissa Washington called on the DOC to enforce its cellmate policies “consistently across all facilities.” She said the DOC’s own audit materials state there is criteria for incarcerated people to request a specific cellmate, “reducing incompatibility and incentivizing positive behavior.”
Washington said her family was told that Stephen Washington’s cellmate had requested a roommate change away from Washington.
The two men had become cellmates the morning of Oct. 9, according to Loehrke.
Correctional officers were called about a person down in a cell shortly before 1:30 p.m. that day. Washington was found injured and was pronounced dead.
Alissa Washington said the state needs to take “serious action on overcrowding, which drives risk for everyone.”
“The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act is already law and is designed to shift the focus of corrections from how much time someone spends behind bars to how they spend that time with rehabilitation, accountability and reintegration,” Washington said.
The act was implemented two years ago and six people have been released under it, though more are eligible, said Josh McMillen of the Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee.
“Why are we double bunking?” McMillen asked. “… Why are we not releasing people who have met the criteria?”
The Rush City prison has always been double bunked, according to Loehrke.
“There is no indication that MRRA would have prevented this incident from occurring,” she said.
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