{"id":2391763,"date":"2025-01-17T13:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T18:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-hill-whistleblower-warns-the-inmates-could-take-over-the-facility-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T14:01:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:01:02","slug":"green-hill-whistleblower-warns-the-inmates-could-take-over-the-facility-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-hill-whistleblower-warns-the-inmates-could-take-over-the-facility-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Hill whistleblower warns the inmates could \u2018take over the facility\u2019 &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgreen-hill-whistleblower-warns-the-inmates-could-take-over-the-facility-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2391763&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Republican lawmaker from \u2062Washington, Sen. John \u200dBraun of\u2063 Centralia,\u2062 has introduced a series of bills aimed at addressing serious \u2064issues within teh \u2063state&#8217;s \u2064juvenile\u200b justice system, especially at the Green Hill School in \u200bLewis County. Braun&#8217;s efforts come in light\u2064 of problems that\u2064 arose following the 2018 enactment of\u200d House Bill 6160, which allows individuals \u2064convicted of crimes as minors to be housed in juvenile rehabilitation \u200cuntil age 25.This\u2063 policy has reportedly led to increased violence among inmates and \u200cstaff \u200dmisconduct at Green Hill. In\u200b response, Senate bill 5277, sponsored by Braun, seeks to repeal the\u200c controversial law. Overcrowding \u2063at the facility has been cited\u200c as a contributing factor to the turmoil, prompting former Governor\u200d Jay Inslee to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-calls-for-more-covid-19-vaccines-by-states\/\" title=\"White House calls for more COVID-19 vaccines by states\">send additional staff<\/a>\u2063 to\u2062 manage the situation.Braun indicates \u200cthat the problems\u200c at Green Hill are severe and have been downplayed by state officials.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Green Hill whistleblower warns the inmates could &lsquo;take over the facility&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1937334\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square)&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;A Washington Republican lawmaker has introduced a series of bills intended to curb what he views as systemic issues with the state&rsquo;s juvenile justice system, particularly Green Hill School located in Lewis County.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In 2018, the state Legislature enacted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary\/?BillNumber=6160&amp;Year=2017&amp;Initiative=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>House Bill 6160<\/strong><\/a>, which&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dcyf.wa.gov\/news\/jr-25-and-reentry-supports\"><strong>permits<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;individuals convicted in adult court for crimes they committed under the age of 18 to instead be housed in juvenile rehabilitation until they reach 25.<\/p>\n<p>However, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, wrote in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/johnbraun.src.wastateleg.org\/braun-bills-aim-reform-washingtons-broken-juvenile-justice-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>news release<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;that this approach has &ldquo;created a host of serious problems that endanger residents and staff and undermine the state&rsquo;s duty to provide rehabilitation services.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/BillSummary\/?BillNumber=5277&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\"><strong>Senate Bill 5277<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;sponsored by Braun&nbsp;would repeal the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbus-ohio-proposes-new-gun-restrictions-after-court-ruling\/\" title=\"Columbus, Ohio Proposes New Gun Restrictions After Court Ruling\">2018 state law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most notable examples is Green Hill School, where last year it was reported that inmates physically&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13seattle.com\/news\/green-hill-teen-detention-facility\"><strong>assaulted<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;each other and employees, while staff has also been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/imprintnews.org\/top-stories\/conditions-dire-at-washington-states-largest-lockup-for-young-adults\/251922\"><strong>arrested<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;for alleged misconduct. Late last year, then-Gov. Jay Inslee sent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonstatestandard.com\/2024\/08\/28\/inslee-sends-prison-staff-to-juvenile-detention-facility-to-help-deal-with-overcrowding\/\"><strong>additional<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;staff to handle overcrowding, which was attributed as one of the causes for violence.<\/p>\n<p>Braun told The Center Square that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s hard for them to ignore. It&rsquo;s a mess down there. I&rsquo;ve led the alarm that &hellip; there are real problems there, and for the better part of the year the governor and DCYF [Washington Department of Children, Youth, &amp; Families]&nbsp;tried to downplay those. We&rsquo;re a long way from solving it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that &ldquo;We have created an unsafe situation. It&rsquo;s going to lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-biden-close-his-jobs-deficit-rep-kevin-brady-on-what-to-look-for-in-fridays-jobs-report\/\" title=\"Will Biden Close His Jobs Deficit? Rep. Kevin Brady On What To Look For In Friday\u2019s Jobs Report\">long-term harm<\/a> to the staff and to residents, likely to lead to long-term tort liability for the state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to information obtained by The Center Square, a whistleblower from Green Hill School warned in 2024 that &ldquo;since the end of last summer, things are progressively getting worse. Nearly every day there are instances where the majority of a living unit refuses to go into their rooms &lsquo;cells&rsquo; when program closes. This by our policy definition is a riot situation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am concerned that eventually those incarcerated here are going to take over the facility,&rdquo; the whistleblower said. &ldquo;Myself and others are very concerned that if things continue the way they are, someone is going to get badly hurt if not worse. The high majority of those incarcerated here will be releasing to our communities in the upcoming years and at this rate they will be worse than when they came in. The purpose of this facility is to do the opposite.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In a separate communication obtained by The Center Square, the whistleblower said there have been repeated instances where the amount of drug activity has forced Green Hill School employees to receive medical treatment or be sent home.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The presence of drug activity was corroborated by another whistleblower, who in a phone message obtained by The Center Square also said that there had been instances of video footage of assaults on staff being deleted.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Things are very, very odd there,&rdquo; the whistleblower stated. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the simplest way I can put it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Center Square granted anonymity to the whistleblowers over their fears of retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about the whistleblowers&rsquo; statements, Braun said &ldquo;they were consistent with other allegations and anecdotal reporting we&rsquo;ve heard, frankly, for a few years. It&rsquo;s disturbingly frequent for me to be out in the community and someone says, &lsquo;Hey, can I talk to you for a minute? I used to work there. It&rsquo;s generally anonymous and anecdotal sometimes. It&rsquo;s very disturbing and there&rsquo;s a lot of work that needs to be done to make things right.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Braun&rsquo;s other legislation includes&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary\/?BillNumber=5274&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\"><strong>Senate Bill 5274<\/strong><\/a>, which would require DCYF to create a pilot program for Green Hill School staff to wear body cameras by January 2026.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/BillSummary\/?BillNumber=5276&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\"><strong>Senate Bill 5276<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;seeks to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">reimburse local law enforcement<\/a>, at the expense of DCYF and the Department of Corrections, for responding to crimes committed in juvenile-reform facilities.<\/p>\n<p>The last bill,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/BillSummary\/?BillNumber=5278&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\"><strong>Senate Bill 5278<\/strong><\/a>, would make numerous policy changes within DCYF regarding how it operates the juvenile justice facilities and handles cases of misconduct by both staff and inmates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1937334\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1937334\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whistleblower warns inmates at Green Hill could &#8216;take over&#8217; facility<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2391764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[48701,39226,5390,32076,14057],"class_list":["post-2391763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-facility-takeover","tag-green-hill","tag-inmates","tag-washington-examiner","tag-whistleblower"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2391763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391767,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391763\/revisions\/2391767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}