Mr. Jalen Romero

Mr. Romero tells us that he has had a great deal of experience with correctional facilities on all levels, including local, state, and federal. He wound up at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility In 2017 as the result of a traffic stop/vehicle search which led to his arrest on a Drug Paraphernalia charge. As a result of this event, Mr. Romero’s car was towed, impounded, and eventually sold by the County. Jalen filed a lawsuit that is currently pending. He said that the police found a broken pen in his car and claimed that it was “drug paraphernalia,” and he was incarcerated at George W. Hill for six months in 2017.

Jalen spent approximately three days in the “Intake” cell with about twenty other men. He confirms that there is no bathroom in this cell and he also confirmed the $100.00 “Processing Fee” charged to each resident of GWHCF upon their arrival there. Based on his extensive experience with other correctional facilities, Mr. Romero characterizes the George W. Hill Correctional Facility as “the worst jail in the tri-state area.” In his opinion, the level of violence there was not exceptionally different from other facilities where he’s done time. But he did make it clear that GWHCF was dirty, much of its infrastructure is in disrepair (showers were out of operation for a week while he was incarcerated there), and the laundry services were awful. According to Mr. Romero, “because it’s a profit-driven jail nothing comes out of the supply closets unless it absolutely has to.” Expenses are kept to a minimum so they don’t eat into the profits. Put succinctly, Mr. Romero said that GWHCF has “no laundry services, no movement (they keep people locked in their cells or in their dayrooms), and the food there is horrible.”

One funny but disturbing incident Jalen recounted centered around his $275.00 pair of boots that he was wearing when he arrived at the Delaware County jail. He was not allowed to keep them - they were confiscated by the guards and taken to the Property Room. Although he offered to mail them home (and pay the fees), he was not allowed to do that either. One day when he was out on the loading dock unloading a truck he saw another inmate wearing his boots. He told the inmate, “You’re wearing my boots,” and asked, “Where did you get them?”  The inmate responded, “The guards gave them to me.” This anecdote confirms what we have heard from other former residents of George W. Hill, that the guards confiscate property from certain inmates and give it to other inmates for reasons of their own.

Mr. Romero said that the Medical Staff and the Counselors were accessible and generally did a good job. Per Jalen, the Law Library was terrible because inmates there are only given such resources as the jail administration sees fit. The laundry services were also sub-standard, and sheets were washed only infrequently. He participated in no programs while incarcerated at George W. Hill, but he did have a job in the kitchen. Despite telling us that the food was horrible there, he says that one of the things they do right is that they really wash the food trays. Jalen said, “They actually wash the damaged moldy trays, but without soap!” Interestingly, he also stated that “they never spend money to fix anything, and the dishwashers, blenders, and conveyor belts are frequently out of commission.” Mr. Romero reflected that one of the things they were best at was restricting movement and activity (this is not a compliment). According to Jalen, most people there just lay around because they don’t have anything to do - they are kept in their cells most of the time. 

Mr. Romero is quite clear in his criticism of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. He said, “The guards don’t care - they seem to do what they want when you go there.” Mr.  Romero noted that there are a lot of African guards there who think that the inmates at GWHCF are just drug addicts who want to get and stay high all day. Jalen made this specific comment about the African staff members there: “They promote the degenerate behavior [at GWHCF]. They think prisoners are dumb, lazy drug addicts and they turn a blind eye on everything until they are forced to act.” Because of the lack of movement and activity there, Jalen said, “You’re paying someone for nothing there. The people who wind up there get no value out of being there.”

In closing, per Mr. Romero, inmates get nothing positive out of being at George W. Hill Correctional Facility, and he feels that it is the worst-run correctional facility in the tri-state area.

Note: pseudonyms have been used to protect the privacy of the individuals who shared their story with us.