Lights Out | 5

Summary

Death County, PA - Episode 5: "Lights Out"

In the fifth installment of Wondery’s gripping series, "Death County, PA," host Joshua Vaughn delves deeper into the murky depths of Dauphin County Prison (DCP) and the intertwined lives of two newly elected officials, Justin Douglas and Lamont Jones. This episode, titled "Lights Out," unravels the escalating tensions and systemic issues within DCP, setting the stage for a showdown between reformers and entrenched powers.

Justin Douglas’ Election Night Triumph

The episode opens on the pivotal election night of November 7, 2023. Justin Douglas, an underdog candidate running for county commissioner, finds himself at Mr. G's Bar and Grill alongside friends and supporters. As the night progresses, Justin's campaign starts to defy expectations.

Lamont Jones reflects on the moment: “We were watching their poll results come in” ([00:45]). Initially skeptical, Lamont admits, “I’m not really the eternal optimist type person. I tend to lean pessimist, but I was like, this is like a coin flip, I think” ([01:30]). However, as precincts report in, Justin begins to surge ahead. Lamont exclaims in disbelief, “Are you kidding me right now?” ([02:38]), witnessing Justin win by a slender margin of 42 votes. To memorialize this tight victory, Justin gets a tattoo of the number 42 on his wrist—a testament to his resolve for jail reform.

Lamont Jones’ Election Amidst Controversy

Parallel to Justin's success, Lamont Jones secures his position as a city councilman, albeit amidst controversy. With a felony record from his past as a drug dealer, Lamont faces legal challenges. “They told me that I wasn’t eligible to serve, and I said, show me where it says that I can’t” ([06:38]). His argument hinges on the Pennsylvania election code, which, according to Lamont, does not explicitly bar him from running. This legal maneuver allows him to remain on the ballot, though his felony convictions still pose a barrier to being sworn in. To overcome this, Lamont applies for a pardon, a process fraught with uncertainty and past rejections.

Lamont’s dedication pays off when, just 10 days before his swearing-in, he receives the long-awaited pardon. “Wonderful. To sum it all up, it felt wonderful” ([09:09]), he shares, signifying a new chapter in his fight for justice and reform.

Unveiling the Dark Realities of Dauphin County Prison

As Justin prepares to take office, attention turns to Dauphin County Prison, a facility plagued by mysterious deaths and deteriorating conditions. The narrative shifts to the plight of inmates like Don Simmers and Taji Abdullah, who recount harrowing experiences within the prison's restrictive housing unit, colloquially known as "The Hole."

Don Simmers describes the chaos: “All the time, you just hear somebody kicking on a bomb bomb bomb, kicking on the door” ([10:24]). The Hole is depicted as a hellish environment where inmates are subjected to constant noise, contraband smuggling, and punitive measures. Efforts by corrections officers (COs) to curb the influx of synthetic marijuana (K2) only exacerbate tensions, leading to increasingly harsh crackdowns.

The Devastating Power Outage Incident

A significant turning point occurs when the administration resorts to cutting power as a means of controlling contraband use. Taji Abdullah reveals, “They turned all the electricity off. We were just sitting in the bar, dark place… It was like just freezing down there” ([15:34]). This drastic measure leaves inmates in darkness and without heat for 17 agonizing days, a move that borders on torture and ignites widespread outrage.

Joshua Vaughn underscores the severity: “Turning off the lights and electricity for any amount of days feels wrong, but 17, that feels like torture” ([16:05]). The incident sparks a class-action lawsuit against DCP, highlighting systemic abuse and negligence.

Lamont’s Investigation and the Emergence of Corruption

Determined to uncover the truth behind these atrocities, Lamont initiates a thorough investigation. Conversations with inmates and whistleblowers reveal a pattern of neglect and malicious intent. The prison administration’s refusal to address the power outage transparently fuels suspicions of corruption within Dauphin County.

Lamont asserts, “I may be new, but it’s clear Dauphin county has been a cesspool of corruption with people turning a blind eye or even worse, in on it themselves” ([31:22]). This revelation sets the stage for a deeper exploration of institutional corruption in subsequent episodes.

Justin and Lamont’s United Front

As newly sworn-in officials, Justin Douglas and Lamont Jones form a formidable alliance against the entrenched powers within DCP. Their shared mission to reform the prison system is evident in their proactive engagement with inmates and relentless pursuit of accountability.

Justin Douglas emphasizes the need for higher standards: “What it's going to take is higher standards… people knowing that the task of being in this role means the standard is high” ([30:59]). Together, they confront the challenges head-on, exemplified when they personally respond to a secondary power outage incident at DCP, coordinating with COs and ensuring inmate safety despite systemic failures.

Confronting Systemic Failures and Looking Forward

The episode concludes with Justin and Lamont facing the daunting task of dismantling a corrupt system resistant to change. Their unwavering commitment is tested as they navigate crises, like the repeated power outages, and confront the indifference and complicity of prison administrators.

Lamont Jones expresses frustration: “He was very agitated that some of the leadership wasn’t around… that just showed a level of commitment to make sure that this gets remedied” ([28:51]). The narrative sets up a cliffhanger, promising intense confrontations and deeper investigations into the pervasive corruption within Dauphin County Prison.

Conclusion

"Lights Out" serves as a compelling exploration of systemic abuse within the Dauphin County Prison system, highlighting the personal and professional struggles of Justin Douglas and Lamont Jones as they strive to implement meaningful reform. Through firsthand accounts and relentless investigation, the episode exposes the dark underbelly of institutional negligence and corruption, setting the stage for a climactic resolution in the series finale.

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For more insights into the ongoing saga of corruption and reform in Death County, PA, be sure to listen to the next and final episode of the series.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Wondry subscribers can binge all episodes of Death County, Pennsylvania early and ad free. Join Wondry in the Wondry app or on Apple podcasts.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin Douglas was spending Tuesday evening at a sports bar with a few close friends.

[Justin Douglas]

We were at Mr. G's Bar and Grill there.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Mr. G's is just off the highway where you would go on a Sunday to watch Philadelphia Eagles. They've got decent bar food and a pretty extensive beer list, although Justin doesn't drink. This evening, however, the crowd wasn't gathered for a game.

[Lamont Jones]

We were watching their poll results come in.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin's day of truth was finally here. After months of worrying about campaign strategy, his meager budget, juggling his many jobs, and talking about prison reform non stop. It was the night of the election, November 7, 2023, and the polls had closed in Dolphin County. Justin had entered the county commissioner race a big underdog. He barely made it onto the news, and to be honest, I didn't think he had a chance. But after nine months of door knocking and campaign events, Justin had started to believe that maybe, just maybe, it was possible.

[Lamont Jones]

I'm not really the eternal optimist type person. I tend to lean pessimist, but I was like, this is like a coin flip, I think. And even that felt really oddly hopeful.

[Joshua Vaughn]

And as he stood there at Mr. G's watching the returns come in, something surprising was happening. Justin started pulling ahead.

[Lamont Jones]

And that gap just kind of with each precinct kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. My phone was ringing off the hook for media. I think people were just like shocked.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But they still didn't think Justin was going to win.

[Lamont Jones]

People were like, holy crap. You showed that like this seat could be flipped in the future. That's what everyone was telling me. Like you way outperformed what people thought was possible.

[Joshua Vaughn]

His head was spinning. He needed some space to just think.

[Lamont Jones]

I went out to the parking lot to get some air and we just kept refreshing our phones and I'm refreshing my phone out in the parking lot.

[Joshua Vaughn]

A few people from his campaign joined him outside. He was watching the last precincts report their totals. And then he saw it.

[Lamont Jones]

Are you kidding me right now?

[Justin Douglas]

Oh my gosh.

[Lamont Jones]

Is this for real?

[Corrections Officer]

Who is a commissioner?

[Lamont Jones]

I mean, with thousands and thousands of votes, that's a pretty slim margin.

[Joshua Vaughn]

All the votes had been counted and.

[Lamont Jones]

I was ahead by 42.

[Joshua Vaughn]

42 votes. Justin ended up getting a tattoo of that number on the underside of his right wrist. Slim or not, to Justin, it was proof his message had landed. People were on board with jail reform.

[Lamont Jones]

We only raised $12,000 for my campaign. Like, it was not driven by money. It was driven by people and connections. And so I value every single one of those.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But the excitement and energy would quickly shift to horror, because while Justin was celebrating his victory, corrections officers and jail administrators were taking punishment at Dolphin County Prison to a who whole new level. From Wondry and Penn Live, I'm Joshua Vaughn. This is Death County, Pennsylvania. This is episode five, lights out. Lamont Jones had first met Justin Douglas during their campaigns, and they quickly recognized they shared a common mission.

[Lamont Jones]

I think we were fighting for the same thing at that moment, and he would show us support by showing up at my events. And we became more comfortable with each other through conversation.

[Joshua Vaughn]

On election night, Lamont was at a community meeting at a Quaker church in uptown Harrisburg. But he was still checking his phone, keeping tabs on the returns. When he saw that Justin had won, he did something that might have come off as a bit rude.

[Lamont Jones]

So I left that meeting in the middle of it when I seen that he had pulled it off. And I came out and I called him. He wasn't answering a lot of phone calls, but he took mine in.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin Lamont saw someone who would fight alongside him for values they both believed in. They were in it together.

[Lamont Jones]

I was like, man, dude, you just made history. I just made history. Right when we both made a vow to each other that we would continue this fight on this side of the spectrum, we would go and stir it up. We would go stir it up and make sure that we're holding people accountable.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Lamont's own election had been a foregone conclusion. He had won the Democratic primary in May and was running unopposed in the general election. Which meant as he was congratulating Justin, he didn't even need to look at his own vote tally. He was already a city councilman elect, but that didn't mean he would be able to join city council without a fight. Two voters filed a lawsuit on the grounds that Lamont's criminal past should keep him from continuing his campaign. Pennsylvania law forbids anyone convicted of infamous crimes from holding public office. Judges have long interpreted infamous crimes to include felonies. Lamont had a felony record going back to his days as a drug dealer.

[Corrections Officer]

He figured it might become an issue, and he'd worked out a plan.

[Lamont Jones]

They told me that I wasn't eligible to serve, and I said, show me where it says that I can't. Article two, section seven, Pennsylvania election code, where anyone with a conviction or infamous crime cannot hold public office, Right? So I Said, what the election code doesn't say is that I couldn't run right.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Lamont's argument worked. He was able to stay on the ballot, but that only bought him a few months. Those felony convictions were still on his record and would still keep him from being sworn in. But Lamont had a plan for that, too. He had applied for a pardon, which he hoped would wipe those felonies clean off his record. He'd been rejected several years earlier. He hoped this time he'd be more successful.

[Lamont Jones]

So in that interim, this pardon process is lingering.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But it takes a while for a pardon to go through, and Lamont was running out of time. As the process unfolded, Lamont was getting promising signs.

[Lamont Jones]

I had a support letter for the pardon from the District attorney, so it encouraged me.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Then he got the news. He had a pardon hearing scheduled for the day before the general election. It was at the State Capitol building.

[Lamont Jones]

You get in front of the Board of Pardons, and you have to, you know, see what they're going to do.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Lamont was feeling pretty confident. The pardon board seemed to think he had a good case, and now they seemed impressed. He'd managed to win his city council race. But nothing is ever straightforward when it comes to overcoming your criminal record. And so the Pardon Board said there was just one more thing.

[Lamont Jones]

You owe us $10,000 in fines and costs.

[Corrections Officer]

Lamont had $10,000 in outstanding fees from one of his previous court cases.

[Lamont Jones]

I kind of felt extorted in that regard.

[Joshua Vaughn]

It was a lot of money. Lamont didn't have a choice between what he had and crowdfunding the rest. He was able to pay the $10,000. About 10 days before he was scheduled to be sworn in, Lamont got the news he was pardoned. How did that feel?

[Lamont Jones]

Wonderful. To sum it all up, it felt wonderful.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Come January 2nd, Lamont and Justin would both get sworn in and get to work at the same time. Justin Douglas and Lamont Jones were in the closing phases of their campaign. An inmate at DCP named Don Simmers found himself in a rough spot. The Hole, or what DCP calls restrictive housing. The place the jail sent inmates it wanted to punish for one reason or another. It was on the bottom floor of the jail.

[Don Simmers]

I was put in there on July 11 for a probation violation. They actually picked me up out of treatment.

[Corrections Officer]

While in dcp, Don was caught with some contraband.

[Joshua Vaughn]

So it was off to the Hole.

[Corrections Officer]

Don was led downstairs to the three rows of cells. He was searched before being placed in his cell.

[Joshua Vaughn]

All he was allowed to take with.

[Corrections Officer]

Him were his clothes and paperwork.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The hole was a pretty hellish place. It was so noisy you could barely get any sleep.

[Don Simmers]

All the time, you just hear somebody kicking on a bom bom bom, kicking on the door. That's how you get the attention, you know what I mean? Because there's no button in there.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But it did have some benefits.

[Don Simmers]

You know, people really go there on purpose because they kind of leave you alone. Some people go to the hole and they're like, you can't punish me no more. I'm in the hole. So what are you gonna do? Write me up? Ooh, whoop de doo, you know what I mean? The first time I went into the Hole, it was basically a free for all. It was out of control.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The out of control was in the air. Literally. There was small smoke everywhere. Somehow the guys in the hole were getting their hands on a lot of synthetic marijuana. K2. And because there was pretty much nothing else to do, they were smoking constantly.

[Don Simmers]

Me being the addict I am, you know, you put me in jail and everybody's in there getting high, especially my Shelly, you know, I'm subject to get high myself.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The smoke was wafting from the cells.

[Narrator]

And in the halls.

[Joshua Vaughn]

It had an impact on staffing. Some corrections officers tried to avoid the hole and the smoke that came with it. But eventually the smoke was getting so bad there, they felt they had to intervene.

[Don Simmers]

Slowly, they started cracking down. First they just come in, they shake us up, you know, at nighttime they come in and see what the problem is.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The cos would turn the cells upside down looking for marijuana. But the smoking didn't stop and the COs were getting more and more frustrated. So the shakedowns escalated.

[Don Simmers]

They started shaking us down day after day. Then they started taking some of our clothes. Then they took our paperwork. Then they took everything.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Paperwork at DCP is important. It could be privileged information that's not meant for anyone else to see other than the client and attorney. Losing access to their paperwork could have an impact on their case. The COs had also taken the jail issued tablets from the inmates in the Hole. That meant no access to religious texts, any entertainment, and all communications to and from the outside world. So friends and family outside of DCP had no idea what was going on.

[Don Simmers]

It ended up coming down to, he was in a uniform and one blanket.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But none of that worked. Somehow the inmates in the hole were still getting synthetic marijuana. Inmates and former staff at DCP have reported that staff were the ones bringing the drugs and other contraband in. When the COs realized that they were using the lights and outlets in the cell to spark up, the jail leadership tried a new tactic. They cut the power completely. That meant the lights stayed off and there wasn't heat in the cells either. It was December in central Pennsylvania. And with only a thin uniform and blanket to protect them after the shakedowns, the people down in the hole were at risk of hypothermia.

[Don Simmers]

I ain't gotta lie. They slowed all the smoking down a little bit, but, you know, it didn't stop.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Without light, without heat, it was even worse. Don and the other people in that block had nothing. All he could do was sit in his cell and wait.

[Don Simmers]

You putting people back there with nothing to do, you know, you got nothing really. You know what I mean? And it's just. It can be mind boggling. So what do you do? You sit there in your head all day. Now you tell me, is that good for somebody that's already mentally distressed? Like, it can't be. I think they was just using it as a tool to make us suffer, you know what I mean? Cause they couldn't control the contraband in their jail, so we suffer for it.

[Joshua Vaughn]

When Don was sitting in his cell in the cold and darkness, nobody on the outside had a clue about what was going on. I didn't either, although I'd heard some rumors from family members. When I asked the jail about those rumors, they didn't tell me anything. Then one afternoon, I got a phone call. Hello? This is a prepaid call from Sarah, an inmate at the Dalton County Detention Facility. To accept this call, press zero. Taji Abdullah is in his mid-20s. He had been in DCP for about a year and a half waiting for trial on gun charges. I knew he had been in the hole recently after talking to his mother. So I asked him about those rumors.

[Taji Abdullah]

They turned all the electricity off. We were just sitting in the bar, Dark place, Lunch and dinner in the dark. They had to use the bathroom in the dark. They go into nightmare. Clean, universal. They took all my clothes, like my thermals and stuff, and they just got this big fan on, like on a whole block. And it was like just freezing down there.

[Joshua Vaughn]

How long was the electricity off for?

[Taji Abdullah]

It was like 17 days.

[Joshua Vaughn]

17 days with no electricity?

[Taji Abdullah]

Yeah, 17 days.

[Joshua Vaughn]

That caught me off guard. Turning off the lights and electricity for any amount of days feels wrong, but 17, that feels like torture. I had heard horror stories about dcp, but this was on a whole different level. This incident is now the center of a class action lawsuit against Dauphin County Prison.

[Taji Abdullah]

They just was crude. They just was treating us wrong down there.

[Joshua Vaughn]

I ended up talking with about 10 other people who were in the hole when the electricity was cut. They all said similar things. I wanted to get this story in the paper. I wondered if the impact would be different now. For years, the county commissioners had been happy to keep the public in the dark about dcp. Now Justin had been elected commissioner and he had campaigned to end the neglect and suffering at dcp.

[Corrections Officer]

But Justin was about to learn the hard way that there's a major difference between running a campaign and running the the County.

[Narrator]

In Death County, Pennsylvania, Lamont Jones is fighting to uncover the truth about his cousin's death in Dolphin County Prison. But standing in his way is a reality TV corner and a system built on secrets. If you're captivated by stories of betrayal and cover ups, you should check out Wondry's podcast Exposed. This series reveals the horrifying crimes of Dr. Robert Haddon, an Ivy League OB GYN who assaulted hundreds of patients while the system protected him. From the prestigious halls of Columbia University to the courtrooms where survivors finally got their day in court, this is a story of power, accountability, and the courage it takes to fight back. Follow Exposed on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You can binge all episodes of Exposed exclusively and ad free right now on Wondry. Plus, start your free trial in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin Douglas was preparing to take office, and he wasn't exactly getting a warm reception from his new colleagues.

[Lamont Jones]

Let's just be honest, as shocking as it was for me to find out I won, I think it was ten times more shocking for the others to find out I won. Somebody even said to me they were at the commissioner's meeting the day after the election and said it was like a funeral. It was like a 32nd meeting. It was like a funeral is what they told me. And I was like, shoot, that's crazy.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin wanted to hit the ground running as a commissioner. When he got an email that his official badge was ready, he couldn't wait to go pick it up. He drove into downtown Harrisburg to the county offices, walked past the statue of a cow out front, headed inside the brick building, and took the elevator to the fourth floor to pick up his.

[Lamont Jones]

Badge that had my name on it. Then I found out that it's just a name tag, doesn't have any privileges.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The badge was just a piece of plastic. The county offices weren't ready for Justin, and it sure seemed like they weren't in any rush to get there.

[Lamont Jones]

And I returned it and said, I'm not interested in trinkets. Like, I'm a county commissioner now, so, like, if you wanted to wait till I take my oath of office to give me this, fine, but don't hand me something and say, well, all we can do is give you a name badge. I think that interaction kind of let them know, like, I wasn't joking, Like, I'm not here trying to, like, throw my weight around, but I'm also, like, trying to be taken seriously.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin had won the election. When he was sworn in and finally got his official badge, he got started.

[Lamont Jones]

I have oversights of things that I'm very passionate about that go outside of the prison, like affordable housing.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But as promised, DCP was one of Justin's top priorities. He wanted to prevent inmate deaths and improve conditions. I asked him how he was going to do that. Based on what you've learned up until now, why are there still deaths and what are some ways that we can actually stop them?

[Lamont Jones]

Well, that's still a question. I think if I answered that, I would have found the silver bullet. You know, I don't think there is a silver bullet, though. I think it's a lot of things.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Staffing, for one thing. Justin said DCP was woefully understaffed. It needed more cos.

[Lamont Jones]

If we're properly staffed, people can actually get outside in our prison. People can breathe fresh air. The impact on quality of life for our inmates is going to be massive if we can get to fully staffed or even close to fully staffed.

[Corrections Officer]

Justin was thinking about improving the quality of food at dcp, investing in better pest control, auditing prime care. Justin said he was ready to see big changes in the way commissioners respond to community questions and criticism.

[Lamont Jones]

I do think we need to be more accountable and transparent. We need to improve that for the sake of, you know, the public trusting us. Because I think the lack of communication has built some real trust issues that are the same trust issues I have.

[Corrections Officer]

When Justin heard about the blackout in the hole, it was another reminder of what this fight was going to be.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But he knew that he and Lamont Jones were ready for that fight.

[Lamont Jones]

We both feel this, I think, heavy burden and weight of responsibility to use this platform to legitimately get changed.

[Joshua Vaughn]

When Lamont went into the jail to run his programs, he made sure folks inside DCP knew this guy's name and that Justin was on their side.

[Lamont Jones]

I would tell people in the prison, I was like, hey, man, I think I got somebody now that I have their ear in changing the conditions of this prison.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Almost immediately, Justin started going to the jail in an official capacity.

[Justin Douglas]

It's hard to walk past a door in that place without someone being like, commissioner, let's talk like, you know, I've been in there a lot since taking office, so most of them have already had conversations with me in some capacity or at least seen me around.

[Lamont Jones]

The amount of time that he spends there let them know that they can trust him. It gave them a sense of, okay, this guy is consistent. He's showing up.

[Corrections Officer]

When the administration and CoS had shut the power off in the Hole, Justin and Lamont weren't in office yet. But that summer, the lights would go out again at dcp. This time, Justin and Lamont would find themselves in the middle of a full blown crisis.

[Joshua Vaughn]

It was a Friday afternoon. Justin was ready to spend the weekend with his family, to not think about Dolphin county politics for just a couple days. And then he got a message from someone on his staff.

[Justin Douglas]

I found out via text that the power was out and that they were assessing the generator's response to it.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The power was out at dcp, but unlike what Don and Taji experienced in the Hole, this wasn't intentional. A utility worker had been digging and accidentally severed a power line. But it was hot. And no power not only meant no lights, it also meant no ac.

[Justin Douglas]

What was communicated to me was that there was a good handle on it from admin and I was in constant communication via text of, like, what was transpiring and taking place.

[Joshua Vaughn]

They got a backup generator to the jail, but then Justin found out that the backup generator wasn't working. Justin knew there were folks at DCP trying to fix the problem. When he went to bed that night.

[Justin Douglas]

I had my phone on the side of the bed, ready for alerts as they came in.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The next morning, Saturday, Justin woke up thinking the power probably was up and running by now. How could it not be?

[Justin Douglas]

And I found out that they were still working on it. And then that's when I got very concerned.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The temperature was forecasted to rise to almost 90 degrees in Harrisburg.

[Corrections Officer]

If the power didn't come on, people in DCP could get heatstroke.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin couldn't wait any longer. He needed to do more than just get updates. So he called Lamont and they drove over to the jail to see what was really going on. To be clear, this wasn't a requirement of Justin as a county commissioner. And for Lamont, this had nothing to do with his position on city council. But they saw a situation where people needed help. When they arrived, the backup generator was finally working after almost 24 hours without power. They both breathed a little sigh of relief, but they wanted to see how everyone was doing.

[Justin Douglas]

We just walked every block A through F because we were told those were the blocks that had experienced the AC outage. It was hot as hell. It was very hot in the cells.

[Corrections Officer]

Even though the power was on, the AC hadn't caught up. And the heat wasn't the only problem. Because this was an emergency situation. The COs have been working overtime and.

[Lamont Jones]

A lot of them were very upset that they were being forced to do overtime and they had families too. They were working very extensive hours. It was like the correctional officers were prisoners at that moment. They wanted to go home, but you can't. You gotta stay here, you know, and you have to be in these same conditions as everyone else is in.

[Joshua Vaughn]

By the time Justin and Lamont arrived, the situation was becoming dangerous.

[Lamont Jones]

I was being told that some people were passing out because of the heat. They were yelling for people to help and nobody believed that. So they just start. The way that they can get them to get on the block is to flood the toilets.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The COs ended up moving some of the inmates out of the hottest blocks, relocating them to newer blocks with better ventilation.

[Justin Douglas]

In a lot of ways, I'm very thankful for the hard work of our cos, you know, showing up and. And putting in that effort.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Four people were sent to the hospital. Thankfully, no one died. But these were the conditions when a bad situation could spiral into a lethal one. Eventually, the temperature inside the jail started.

[Justin Douglas]

To cool down, so it was clear that the generator was doing its job. And it was also clear that we weren't experiencing any power failures of note or anything not working of note.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin and Lamont were preparing to leave. They did a final round and talked to a few more inmates and COs. Justin couldn't help but notice that some individuals who he wanted to see just weren't there.

[Justin Douglas]

I don't know the extent of what Admin's presence out there was. I just know they weren't out there when the power came back on, and I couldn't really understand that.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Justin and Lamont had been at the jail for eight or nine hours and in that time they didn't encounter any senior administrators. While the COs were required to work past the end of their shifts, jail administrators opted to leave. The warden did stay late during the first night the power was out, but he didn't come back until after Justin asked for prison admin. To report to dcp. The DCP administration were county employees directly under Justin's oversight. Lamont could tell just how seriously Justin took that responsibility.

[Lamont Jones]

He was very agitated that some of the leadership wasn't around. They weren't on deck. And the amount of time that he had to be there. And to me, that just showed a level of commitment to make sure that this gets remedied.

[Justin Douglas]

I've never ran a prison before, so I don't want to come across like I know where people should be and when they should be there.

[Joshua Vaughn]

But this was an emergency.

[Justin Douglas]

I think leadership is often best expressed through presence in times of crisis. And I, at that moment, was very disappointed.

[Joshua Vaughn]

The next day, Justin drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was going there for a conference with other county commissioners from across the state. The topic, courts and corrections.

[Justin Douglas]

Then I checked into my hotel room. Literally, as soon as the guy handed me back my card, I got a text that said, the power's out again. And then I immediately got in my car and drove to the prison to assess the situation.

[Joshua Vaughn]

When he arrived at dcp, it was dinner time. Justin snapped into helper mode.

[Justin Douglas]

Like, I was just doing the runner. Things that, like, anyone can do. One guy didn't have peanut butter in his bag lunch, and he was supposed to have it, and so went to the kitchen and got him. Like, a CO doesn't need to do this. They got enough to worry about right now.

[Corrections Officer]

Justin called in some favors.

[Justin Douglas]

We worked with some community partners from our community advisory board to deliver ice and then just, you know, reimburse them for that.

[Joshua Vaughn]

Eventually, the power came back on, and Justin was able to go back to his conference. We asked DCP about the power outage, and they said the administration's exceptional coordination and execution were instrumental in mitigating the crisis effectively. It was clear to Justin for Dolphin County Prison to treat inmates more humanely, it was going to take a lot more than just wanting to do better.

[Justin Douglas]

What it's going to take is higher standards. And I think it's going to even take, like, me not having to communicate higher standards, but people knowing that the task of being in this role means the standard is high.

[Corrections Officer]

And to reach those higher standards, the county would have to exercise some demons from its past.

[Lamont Jones]

I may be new, but it's clear Dauphin county has been a cesspool of corruption with people turning a blind eye or even worse, in on it themselves.

[Joshua Vaughn]

That's on the next and final episode of Death County, Pennsylvania.

[Narrator]

Follow Death County, Pennsylvania on the Wondry app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Death County, Pennsylvania early and ad free by joining Wondry plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short [e-mail] survey if you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to [e-mail] tips.

[Joshua Vaughn]

From Wondry and PennLive. This is episode 5 of 6 of Death County, Pennsylvania. If you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to [e-mail] Tips Death County, Pennsylvania is written and reported by me Joshua Vaughn Producer is Rachel Yong Senior producers are Eric Benson and Chris Siegel Story editor is Michael May Associate producer is Emily Locke Fact checking by Annika Robbins Sound design and mixing by Jeff Schmidt Audio assistance by Daniel William Gonzalez Sound supervisor is Marcelino Villalpando Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez. For freesun Sync Senior Managing producer is Latta Pandya Managing producers are Heather Baloga and Matt Gant Senior Development editor is Rachel B. Doyle Development producer is Olivia Weber Executive producers for Advanced Local are Richard Dimon and Selena Roberts. Executive producers are n' J' Jeri Eaton, George Lavender Marshall, Louie and Jen Sargent. For Wondery.