Filed Date: March 10, 1976
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In the early 1970's, various prisoners at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility in the U.S. Virgin Islands filed lawsuits under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the Government of the Virgin Islands in the U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands. The plaintiffs, represented by Legal Services of the Virgin Islands, alleged that their constitutional rights had been violated by various unstated deficiencies in the facility's operations.
On March 31, 1976, the U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands (Judge Warren Young) appointed a commission of five people (three citizens and two inmates) to investigate the facility and to submit their findings and recommendations to the court. On May 1, 1976, the commission submitted its final report to the court, and the court adopted the commission's findings as its own.
On May 20, 1976, the court (Judge Young) held that the prison did not meet constitutionally required standards in the areas of medical care, dental care, psychiatric care, provision of food, visitation, mail, disciplinary procedures, and religious programming. The court ordered the defendants to bring these areas up to the constitutional standard and warned them that if they did not do so, the prisoners would be sent to institutions on the mainland. The court further warned the defendants that if these instructions were not followed, the court would refuse to incarcerate nondangerous offenders in the future. Barnes v. Government of the Virgin Islands, 415 F.Supp. 1218 (D.V.I. 1976).
Summary Authors
Kristen Sagar (5/3/2006)
Young, Warren Howard (Virgin Islands)
Hamlin, Thomas L. (Virgin Islands)
Amalie, Charlotte (Virgin Islands)
Branch, Milton C. (Virgin Islands)
Young, Warren Howard (Virgin Islands)
Last updated March 25, 2024, 3:04 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Virgin Islands
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: March 10, 1976
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Inmate
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Government of the Virgin Islands, None
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Order Duration: 1976 - None
Issues
General:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: