More than a dozen men were crammed into a St. Louis jail holding cell built for nine people and left there for 11 days in late May 2023, according to a federal lawsuit that a judge has now allowed to move forward. The suit also alleges that a toilet was not working and waste pooled in the cell.
A federal judge allowed Willie B. White Jr.'s action against the jail and unnamed officers to move forward. The judge called the allegations “nothing short of horrifying,” as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Meals Passed Through a Filthy Slot
The lawsuit says White slept on the floor. It also alleges officers failed to provide cleaning supplies.
A Jail Already Under Scrutiny for Years
The City Justice Center had already faced scrutiny, including a 2021 uprising involving more than 100 people and six detainee deaths in a five-month span in 2022. Inmates and their lawyers have separately alleged the facility provided inadequate medical care and failed to give detainees adequate time out of their cells or sufficient water and food.
The claims echo a broader pattern documented in a separate, ongoing federal lawsuit, Jones v. City of St. Louis, in which plaintiffs represented by the MacArthur Justice Center presented more than 360 use-of-force reports and video evidence alleging that guards routinely weaponized chemical mace and punitive water shut-offs against detainees. City officials reportedly deleted nearly 80% of requested video footage during discovery in that case.
Deaths and Design Flaws Have Piled Up
At least 18 detainees have died in custody at the City Justice Center since 2020, according to KSDK. The outlet also reported a November death and the death of 32-year-old Dametria McDile following a medical emergency. A May 2025 report from KCUR found that detainees at the facility can go years without seeing natural sunlight, since the 2002-built jail lacks outdoor exercise yards and relies on windowless cells facing interior dayrooms.
The Marshall Project has reported staffing shortages and limited recreation for detainees. A January 2025 review by former corrections official Doug Burris also addressed problems at the jail.
Leadership Changes and a Statewide Push for Oversight
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones hired Burris as interim corrections commissioner following that review to implement 35 recommended operational reforms. In September, Nate Hayward started at the jail after 32 years of county corrections experience.
Sewage has leaked into cells and county offices at the St. Louis County Justice Center, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported separately.
A separate lawsuit concerns conditions at the city's former Workhouse jail, which was demolished in March 2025.
