Justin Douglas

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Another Dauphin County prison board meeting. Community members and prison staff file into the hearing room at DCP. Everyone takes their seats. Commissioners sit at a table facing the audience. Cameras are set up to live stream the meeting. That's how I joined. Business as usual.

Another Dauphin County prison board meeting. Community members and prison staff file into the hearing room at DCP. Everyone takes their seats. Commissioners sit at a table facing the audience. Cameras are set up to live stream the meeting. That's how I joined. Business as usual.

Today, the county commissioners have earmarked time to discuss the way prison staff handled an emergency situation with an inmate. The incident had occurred about a month earlier. An inmate wasn't cooperating with corrections officers and started making physical threats toward them. I'd seen the prison board discuss incidents like this in the past. But this time, something was different.

Today, the county commissioners have earmarked time to discuss the way prison staff handled an emergency situation with an inmate. The incident had occurred about a month earlier. An inmate wasn't cooperating with corrections officers and started making physical threats toward them. I'd seen the prison board discuss incidents like this in the past. But this time, something was different.

Warden Gregory Briggs described that the COs on duty had de-escalated the situation. Instead of going hands-on with the inmate, they saw that he was experiencing a mental health crisis. They brought in medical staff to assess him. They spent an hour strategizing how to communicate with him. And in the end, they got him the care he needed.

Warden Gregory Briggs described that the COs on duty had de-escalated the situation. Instead of going hands-on with the inmate, they saw that he was experiencing a mental health crisis. They brought in medical staff to assess him. They spent an hour strategizing how to communicate with him. And in the end, they got him the care he needed.

It was a situation with a lot of similarities to cases I'd reported on at DCP. Cases that had ended with COs using force, or with inmates not receiving appropriate care. Or even worse, with an inmate dying in custody. This time, the COs had calmed the situation down, and the prison board was shouting that out.

It was a situation with a lot of similarities to cases I'd reported on at DCP. Cases that had ended with COs using force, or with inmates not receiving appropriate care. Or even worse, with an inmate dying in custody. This time, the COs had calmed the situation down, and the prison board was shouting that out.

The prison board named each staffer involved in the incident, the COs on duty, and the medical staff who assessed the inmate. And they also presented each of them with a letter of commendation.

The prison board named each staffer involved in the incident, the COs on duty, and the medical staff who assessed the inmate. And they also presented each of them with a letter of commendation.

This was the first time in my three years of attending prison board meetings that I could remember hearing prison staff being commended for de-escalation. It was just one moment, a recognition of something that should have been happening all along. But to me, it spoke volumes about how public scrutiny and pressure from Justin Douglas just might be changing the culture at DCP.

This was the first time in my three years of attending prison board meetings that I could remember hearing prison staff being commended for de-escalation. It was just one moment, a recognition of something that should have been happening all along. But to me, it spoke volumes about how public scrutiny and pressure from Justin Douglas just might be changing the culture at DCP.

Of course, that doesn't mean the work is over, especially for Justin and Lamont. Justin is now the chair of the commissioners, giving him new responsibilities and more authority to make changes in the county. When we recorded this episode, Lamont was in the middle of his mayoral campaign, just weeks away from the primary. And there aren't any Republican candidates on the ballot.

Of course, that doesn't mean the work is over, especially for Justin and Lamont. Justin is now the chair of the commissioners, giving him new responsibilities and more authority to make changes in the county. When we recorded this episode, Lamont was in the middle of his mayoral campaign, just weeks away from the primary. And there aren't any Republican candidates on the ballot.

So if Lamont wins the primary, he's almost guaranteed to win the mayoral seat. The three of us sat down to talk about what's next for Dauphin County Prison and for each of them. From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn, and this is a special episode of Death County PA.

So if Lamont wins the primary, he's almost guaranteed to win the mayoral seat. The three of us sat down to talk about what's next for Dauphin County Prison and for each of them. From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn, and this is a special episode of Death County PA.

I won't lie, it wasn't easy to get Justin and Lamont in the same room at the same time. They are incredibly busy guys. But it was important to me that the three of us sit down together to reflect on everything that's happened over these years of reporting and to get them talking to each other about what changes are ahead for Dauphin County.

I won't lie, it wasn't easy to get Justin and Lamont in the same room at the same time. They are incredibly busy guys. But it was important to me that the three of us sit down together to reflect on everything that's happened over these years of reporting and to get them talking to each other about what changes are ahead for Dauphin County.