A GAO report of interest

By now we should all be aware that the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has granted a number of petitions challenging the civilian confinement conditions at facilities used to house Air Force prisoners. For example,

​No. 22-0280/AF. U.S. v. D'Andre M. Johnson. CCA 39676. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, it is ordered that said petition is hereby granted on the following issue:
 
WHETHER MILITARY OFFICIALS ACTED WITH DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE IN SENDING APPELLANT TO LOWNDES COUNTY JAIL—A CIVILIAN CONFINEMENT CENTER WITH "A HISTORY OF INHUMANE LIVING CONDITIONS"—AND WHETHER APPELLANT SUFFERED CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT THEREBY WHEN, INTER ALIA, CONFINEMENT OFFICIALS FAILED TO PROTECT HIM FROM PHYSICAL ATTACK, WITHHELD HIS MAIL, WITHHELD VISITORS, AND WOULD NOT LET HIM GO OUTSIDE WHILE HE LIVED IN UNSANITARY CONDITIONS.

A new GAO Report to Congressional Committees suggests the problem may not be limited to civilian facilities but includes Air Force Military Confinement Facilities (MCF) (as well as the Marine Corps).

MILITARY  CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES: Consistent Application  of Standards and  Improved Oversight  Could Enhance  Health and Safety. GAO-23-105082, 22 December 2022. From the introduction,

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the military departments have developed health and safety standards for military correctional facilities (MCFs). However, GAO found that the Air Force does not routinely assess its MCFs for adherence to these standards. Specifically, it is the only service that has not ·

     required the routine assessment of adherence to a uniform set of MCFspecific health and safety standards,

     and · assessed all of its MCFs to determine adherence with these standards.

By routinely assessing all of its MCFs, the Air Force could better ensure that its MCFs are meeting health and safety standards, and identify and respond to any potential risks to the health and safety of MCF staff and incarcerated persons.
. . . 
Inspections from 2017 to 2019 at an Air Force base identified structural and procedural deficiencies at the Air Force MCF. In 2020, an investigation prompted by a December 2019 suicide at the MCF resulted in an almost year-long closure of the MCF to address deficiencies identified. The Air Force has plans to address the remaining facility deficiencies identified in the earlier inspections; that work is expected to begin in fiscal year 2023.

What's interesting here is the absence of attention to civilian facilities used to confine military personnel. Perhaps another report will forthcoming. 

See also our post of 20 July 2022 on the Velasquez case, and here for Pullings.