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Judge declines to dismiss lawsuit of El Paso County jail detainee in extended solitary confinement

By Michael Karlik 03/27/2024 | updated 1 year ago

A federal judge has declined to dismiss a constitutional rights lawsuit from an incarcerated man who alleged he was improperly held in solitary confinement for more than 200 days in the El Paso County jail.

Willis Earl Jenkins Jr., representing himself, filed suit against two jail employees for allegedly confining him alone for 23 hours a day for an extended period since he arrived in July 2021. He wrote that Elizabeth O’Neal, the head of classification, mislabeled him a “sexual predator,” but he was never included in reviews of his housing placement.

“The psychological torture im forced to undergo daily with this unvoluntary placement in isolated solitary restrictive confinement in this corrupt county jail of Colorado Springs, Colorado is worsening,” wrote Jenkins in 2022. He sought $2 million from the defendants.

Last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell recommended allowing Jenkins’ claim to proceed against O’Neal and detentions Deputy Andrew Ravenkamp. She acknowledged Jenkins’ complaint was vague and confusing at times. However, he credibly alleged a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the imposition of punishment on pretrial detainees like Jenkins.

“Broadly, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants intentionally placed and kept him in solitary confinement on false pretenses,” wrote Dominguez Braswell. “Although Plaintiff in this case was given an initial explanation for his placement in solitary confinement, he asserts he was never given a meaningful opportunity to be heard or challenge his confinement.”

She added that the defendants would have “ample opportunity” to show Jenkins’ solitary confinement was justified and not solely meant to punish him. For now, Jenkins’ allegations, taken generously because of his self-represented status, stated a constitutional violation.

The defendants filed objections to Dominguez Braswell’s recommendation, but U.S. District Court Senior Judge Raymond P. Moore adopted her reasoning on March 5. He dismissed only the portions of Jenkins’ claim alleging an official custom or policy of the jail was behind the constitutional violation.

Since he filed his complaint, Jenkins pleaded guilty to multiple misdemeanor and felony offenses in El Paso County. He is currently imprisoned in Cañon City.

The case is Jenkins v. O’Neal et al.

Courtesy photo of The El Paso County Jail.
Courtesy photo
Michael Karlik

Reporter

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