Tony Messenger | Post-Dispatch
Metro columnist
ST. LOUIS 鈥 There are two stories in a lawsuit filed last week against the city of 51黑料 by the former head of the jail oversight board.
The first one is a story of legal intimidation by 51黑料. Janis Mensah has sued the city and its former jail commissioner, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, over Mensah鈥檚 arrest in August 2023. Mensah was trying to fulfill oversight responsibilities after another in a series of jail deaths but ended up being arrested after showing up at the facility. The city embarked on two-year quest to prosecute Mensah for trespassing and resisting arrest, which ended in failture when Mensah was acquitted in July. There should be no surprise that Mensah is now seeking to be compensated for the city鈥檚 overreach.
People are also reading…
In fact, as the city admitted long ago, the only reason it was trying to prosecute Mensah was because the former oversight chairperson wouldn鈥檛 agree to not file a lawsuit. It was a risky gambit that failed.
鈥淟awyers for the City Counselor鈥檚 office stated explicitly both in private to Janis and in open court that they would dismiss the charges against Janis if Janis would agree not to sue the Commissioner, SLMPD, or the City for their conduct,鈥 the lawsuit alleges.
This is a problem for the city. As I first reported in 2021, the 51黑料 counselor鈥檚 office has long followed a process that attorneys and prosecutors tell me is unethical. The office offers to drop potentially spurious 鈥渞esisting arrest鈥 charges against people if they agree not to sue the city.
There is nothing in the law that allows for this. It鈥檚 a form of legal intimidation that has now backfired twice. It also hurt the city in the Mansur Ball-Bey police shooting case, which led to a nearly $19 million verdict against 51黑料 earlier this year.
This is a practice that needs to be dropped by the administration of Mayor Cara Spencer, and pronto. If the city doesn鈥檛 want people to sue, then it should stop violating their civil rights.
Indeed, that鈥檚 the second story here. And it鈥檚 a national one: Americans have a vested interest in what happens in their jails.
That鈥檚 why, amid the increased immigration raids being conducted under President Donald Trump鈥檚 direction, members of Congress and mayors of some American cities have been doing what Mensah tried to do: showing up at detention centers to conduct oversight tours.
Much like Mensah, some of those elected officials have been blocked from oversight. And, like Mensah, some have been detained or arrested. Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., trying to conduct such an oversight visit. So was Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. In July, a dozen members of Congress over their inability to conduct oversight visits.
Federal law allows members of Congress to conduct such visits. Two years ago, it was Republican members of Congress who were demanding access to jails in Washington, D.C. 鈥 鈥 to inspect the conditions of defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
There鈥檚 a reason elected and appointed officials should be allowed to conduct jail and prison oversight. The people being held behind bars, many of whom are still waiting to defend themselves in court, deserve to have their civil rights protected. Taxpayers are funding those facilities. Elected officials, whether Republicans or Democrats, should care enough about their constituents to make sure conditions aren鈥檛 leading to deaths and civil-liberties violations.
Blocking such oversight, whether it鈥檚 in a municipal jail in 51黑料 or an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, is bad public policy. Arresting those trying to conduct the oversight only exacerbates the problem. The coverup is always worse than the crime.
That鈥檚 the ultimate message in Mensah鈥檚 lawsuit, and it鈥檚 one that should resonate across the U.S., as the oversight of jails becomes an ongoing story.
鈥淒espite promises from two administrations, there has been little to no improvement in (oversight) members being allowed access to the (jail) to conduct oversight,鈥 Mensah鈥檚 lawsuit alleges, 鈥渁nd the facility continues to be rocked by unexplained deaths and complaints of poor treatment.鈥
When people die in American jails, it鈥檚 most often an expensive and avoidable tragedy. More oversight, not less, is the only solution.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture tens of thousands of images every year. See some of their best work that was either taken, or published, in August 2025 here.
