Suffolk County guards file suit vs. Cabral

Yawu Miller

In 1999, Deyanira Feliz was at the center of the controversy at the Suffolk County House of Correction, after she blew the whistle on fellow officers who were trading drugs for sex.

Her future at the South Bay jail wasn’t looking bright after she filed a lawsuit against her superiors and then-Sheriff Richard Rouse for retaliating against her after she went public with her complaints.

Last week Feliz was greeting visitors from behind the front desk at the South Bay jail, occupying one of the highest-visibility positions in the facility.

Much has changed in the last five years. Rouse resigned his post after details of the controversy emerged. His replacement, Andrea Cabral, has been widely credited with improving moral and bringing new professionalism to the jail.

But Cabral’s tenure has not been free from controversy. Last week, ten officers from the Nashua Street jail which Cabral oversees filed a lawsuit charging Cabral stripped them of their deputy status in retaliation for their support of Stephen Murphy, who challenged Cabral in her bid for re-election last year.

The deputy status enabled corrections officers to work lucrative private details outside of the prison and earn as much as $40,000 in overtime.

“It is obviously clear that she retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment right to support her opponent,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Douglas Louison. “These were long-time employees whom she herself re-commissioned when she took office.”

Cabral would not comment directly on the case, but said she has faced significant hurdles in working with the some staff members in the jail.

“The day I came through the door I said there’s a relatively small group of people here who don’t like change,” she told the Banner. “Their lives were infinitely easier before I got here. I don’t recognize their sense of entitlement and I do not tolerate bad behavior.”

Under Rouse, eight corrections officers were fired or suspended for sexual abuse of prisoners and another seven were fired or suspended for beating prisoners. Feliz and other whistle-blowers described an environment where guards pressured female inmates to trade sex for cigarettes, food and drugs.

In addition to the ten corrections officers who have filed suit, Cabral is also being investigated by a grand jury over allegations she lied about the firing of a nurse who provided the FBI information on inmate abuse by guards.

Inmates and their advocates interviewed by the Banner described an improved atmosphere in the jails Cabral oversees.

“I think she’s been doing a phenomenal job since she’s been here in spite of all the attacks on her,” said State Rep. Gloria Fox. “This is a challenging job to say the least.”

Fox said Cabral’s emphasis on preparing inmates to lead productive lives on release earned her the support of other black elected officials.

“Re-entry was one of our major, major goals,” she said. “It’s a mission she has been implementing.”

More importantly, according to Cabral, the atmosphere inside the prison has changed.

“The entire environment is different,” she said. “You hear it from the inmates. You hear it from the people who work here. That’s what’s important to me.”