HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Wednesday, the Dauphin County Prison Board laid out new plans to stop drugs from being smuggled by inmates. The announcement comes after an inmate was charged with the overdose death of another inmate in January.
Richard Weikel is accused of smuggling fentanyl into the jail and giving it to other inmates. That led to Michael Butler dying in prison of an overdose.
The new policy to combat smuggling includes providing new shoes that prevent people from hiding contraband.
“On intake, their regular shoes will be taken, and they will be provided Croc-style shoes," said John Bey, the director of criminal justice for Dauphin County. "The regular shoes will be placed in their property bag.”
During the meeting, dozens of people spoke for over two hours to board members, calling for more accountability from the prison.
A report from last October showed 20 inmates died between 2017 and 2021 while in custody at the Dauphin County Prison. That number does not include Butler's death or the death of 33-year-old Justin Cofield, who died in late February.
Nicole Banks, the mother of Justin Cofield, said she wants to see more transparency with prison policies.
“By, at least, saying, ‘Sorry for your loss,’ that’s accountability," said Banks. "They need to not be ashamed of that. It's like they're ashamed to say, 'Sorry, we dropped the ball this time. We'll do better next time.'"
Amid the public scrutiny of recent inmate deaths, the Dauphin County Prison Board announced it will be holding several town hall meetings to address ongoing concerns.
"I think transparency is something we need to improve on," said Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas. "This is an opportunity for us to continue to make improvements."
The first Dauphin County Prison town hall will be held on April 4 at 6 p.m. in the HUB Building along Fulton Street in Harrisburg.