Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - Teenagers at the D.C. Jail have been in lock-down for more than two weeks, a condition juvenile justice advocates decry as “inhumane.”

About 24 juveniles have been placed in solitary confinement since some of the teenagers attacked a fellow inmate on May 1, said Devon Brown, director of the D.C. Department of Corrections. The lock-down was ordered to restore some order and keep the situation from getting out of hand, Brown said. The punishment will continue until an internal investigation is completed, he said.

Liz Ryan, executive director of the Campaign for Youth Justice, said the jail’s measures were too harsh and illustrated the problems with housing teenagers at an adult facility.

“To have kids locked down for two weeks is absolutely inhumane treatment, it is unjustifiable,” Ryan said.

In the eyes of the law, the juveniles are considered to be adult criminals, Brown said. The department is following the American Corrections Association Standards, he said.

“To call it inhumane is overstating the situation,” Brown said. “I would call it more like time-out.”

Brown said the inmate who was beaten was treated and back in his cell.

Under the lock-down, the inmates remain behind the barred cell doors for about 23 hours day. Inmates continue to receive educational and religions services, although they must stay in their cells, instead of a class-room like setting, Brown said.

The juveniles, ages 16 to 17, according to jail officials, are housed in the D.C. Jail because U.S. Attorney’s Office were deemed too dangerous to keep in the streets or they were a flight risk. Most have not been convicted and are awaiting trial. They are kept in separate wing from the adult inmates.

The lockdown demonstrates that the jail is not equipped to handle the young detainees, Ryan said. She also questioned the levels of education the children were getting.

Brown said he rejected any notion that the children were being abused, saying that the teenage years are critical to a child’s development. He favors taking the juveniles out of the jail, but that would require Congressional action to change in the law, city officials said.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com