Inmates at the D.C. jail are suing over conditions they say include exploding toilets, sewage floods and mold creeping up cell walls.

A class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday, Nov. 3, on behalf of people detained at the jail alleges pervasive unsanitary conditions, as first reported by the Washington Post. The suit describes erupting toilets, water leaks and prolific mold growth, DC News Now reported. It follows the Justice Department's announcement in October that it had launched a federal investigation into whether conditions at D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities violate the Constitution.

The lawsuit names specific accounts. Between August and October 2025, plaintiff Tony McClam experienced flooding from several exploding toilets where sewage water shot out, according to the suit. Several months later, he was trapped in a locked cell and ended up on his knees, sweeping the water with his bare hands and a washcloth.

Plaintiff Christopher Brockington faced several floods on his unit in July 2026, according to the suit as described by DC News Now. His belongings were left floating in water containing feces, urine, blood and vomit that rose to his knees.

Shameka Hayes, who spent roughly three years inside the jail from 2022 to 2025, described the mold problem. "I've been in a cell and mold was coming up the wall, and they give us the bleach, and we wipe it off and we go on about our business," Hayes told DC News Now. "It's not a big deal to them. But it's a big deal to us because it affects our health."

Federal investigation already underway

The Justice Department notified D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Oct. 19 that it was opening an investigation into whether DOC engages in a pattern or practice of violating prisoners' and detainees' constitutional rights. The department said it had received numerous allegations about conditions, including from the D.C. Auditor's own report. Allegations include failing to protect inmates from excessive force, failing to provide adequate medical care, failing to provide safe and sanitary conditions, and failing to provide adequate nutrition.

The investigation falls under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). The department said it had not reached any conclusions.

Audit found worsening conditions

A May 2025 audit by the D.C. Auditor, conducted with the Council for Court Excellence, documented 39 findings and 61 recommendations. The audit found conditions had worsened since a 2019 review. Over 1,595 emergency maintenance issues were recorded during the audit period, which ran from July 2023 to June 2024. Those issues included broken locks, leaking plumbing, mold, vermin and unsafe temperatures.

The D.C. Auditor's report said the jail's in-custody death rate had climbed to 3.5 times the national average during the audit period. The Council for Court Excellence put the figure at three times the national average. Five of eight deaths were from overdoses, according to the Council for Court Excellence.

Misty Thomas Zaleski, executive director of the Council for Court Excellence, said the audit found "dozens, if not close to 100 active complaints related specifically to plumbing."

"The culture needs to be changed. The regulations need to be changed," Thomas Zaleski told DC News Now. "Those can happen simultaneously while we are working to get a new building that is going to meet 21st-century standards."

Replacement years away

The Department of General Services said the first phase of a new jail is not expected to be finished until 2032, DC News Now reported. The entire project would not be done until 2035.

D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson said in the May 2025 report that a replacement jail "has been discussed for more than 20 years and it's past time to act." She added, "Elected officials need to make hard choices and set priorities, and life and death issues must be at the top of the list."

The DOC, for its part, passed a voluntary American Correctional Association (ACA) reaccreditation audit in October 2025, scoring 100% on mandatory standards and 98.9% on non-mandatory standards, according to a department press release. Director Thomas Faust acknowledged in a letter included in the auditor's report that "there is no question that the structure of the CDF facility presents real limitations in delivering programming and services."

DC News Now reported that the D.C. Department of Corrections had not responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Residents with information about conditions at DOC facilities can file a report with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.