A grand jury transcript released yesterday paints an awful picture of a chaotic Orange County, California jail.   The 7,000 pages of transcripts were prepared for a criminal grand jury to investigate the 2006 death of an inmate at Theo Lacy Jail and the reaponse from the OC Sheriff's Department.  

The report shows that the deputies charged with watching over the inmates and prisons spent most of their time watching television, playing video games and taking naps while encouraging inmates to violently abuse others.  

"In practice, some deputies regularly failed to perform their duties of securing the jail and the safety of its inmates.  They seldom performed floor checks.  The deputies instead largely remained in their guard station, where they were regularly seen watching television, full length movies, playing video games, browsing the Internet, chatting on-line, or sleeping with lights out.  Even when awake at their guard station, some OCSD deputies would go as long as 30 minutes without even looking out the windows to scrutinize the barracks under their supervision," the report concluded.

In case you're thinking a lack of supervision would be welcomed by inmates, you may want to consider what happens when a bunch of criminals are kept in a tiny space with no consequences for their actions.  Ever seen Shawshank Redemption or American History X?  If not, rent one or both and pay close attention to the brutality inmates impose on one another. 

Additionally, in a clear violation of prison policy which states that "No inmate shall inflict punishment on another inmate," the OC prison guards regularly recruited some prisoners they called "shot callers" to discipline others who had gotten "out of line."

"If deputies observed conduct on the part of an inmate which they considered a breach of the rules, they would summon the 'shot callers' and instruct them to get these inmates 'back in line.'  The deputies knew that if the inmate disregarded the “shot caller,” the inmate would be assaulted or 'taxed' by other inmates," the report noted. 
 
"Some deputies developed methods, both positive and negative, to get the “shot callers” to do what they wanted.   They gave “shot callers” extra privileges such as new uniforms, extra meals, extra hygiene products, and greater toleration or leeway if they broke the rules."

Some OC deputies also flat-out denied medical and dental treatments to inmates to avoid having to draft reports detailing the treatments.  Instead, the told the “shot callers” to "convince" the sick inmates they didn't really need medical attention.  

The list of violations occurring at the Theo Lacy culminate with the details of inmate John Chamberlain's murder.  Chamberlain was in custody on suspicion of possessing child pornography when inmates attacked him, raped him, bludgeoned him to death, and spat and urinated on him.  The attackers mistakenly believed that Chamberlain had been charged with child molestation and exacted punishment on him for it.   In the end, Chamberlain was killed, having suffered blunt trauma to the head and 43 rib fractures.

According to testimony, Chamberlain screamed and pleaded for help during the attack while jail guard Kevin Taylor watched "Cops" and exchanged 22 personal text messages on his cellphone.  When an inmate stood waving his arms in front of the guard station, the deputies finally noticed something was wrong. 

In the end, the county agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Chamberlain's father.  Nine inmates were charged in slaying of Chamberlain death and all have pleaded not guilty. Amazingly, all of the guards remain employed as deputies.

More on this Story