“One More Death and They Take Away Our Rights”: Newport News Mayor Sounds Alarm on City Jail

A consent decree is a court-enforceable settlement that typically follows a DOJ investigation into unconstitutional conditions (inadequate medical/mental health care, failure to prevent suicides, poor supervision, etc.). It can require costly reforms, independent monitors, detailed reporting, policy overhauls, and ongoing federal court oversight—reducing local control over jail operations, staffing, and spending. That is the “take away our rights” part: local elected officials and the sheriff lose significant autonomy while under the decree.

This is not abstract. The nearby Hampton Roads Regional Jail (which housed many medically and mentally ill inmates from Newport News and other localities) was under a DOJ consent decree after findings of inadequate medical and mental health care and prolonged restrictive housing of people with serious mental illness. The decree was approved in 2020; the facility closed in 2024, and the decree was dismissed after that. Newport News then took more of those inmates into its own city jail, increasing population and complexity.

Have there been a lot of deaths at the Newport News City Jail?

Yes—relative to other jails in the Hampton Roads region and given the jail’s size. Official Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails data and local reporting show:

• Newport News City Jail recorded the most in-custody deaths in the region in recent years: 3 in calendar year 2025 and 3 in 2024 (other local jails often had 0–2).
• Multiple were suicides (hangings). One high-profile case is the June 2025 death of 21-year-old Jaqaris Jemison. His mother had called the jail warning he was in danger; a $20 million federal lawsuit alleges required welfare checks were not performed and he was found hanging after roughly an hour.
• Other reported deaths include a January 2025 hanging and additional cases involving medical issues or suicide attempts (the jail has logged dozens of attempts in some periods).

Statewide, local/regional jails reported 58 deaths in 2025 (up from 48 the prior year), with suicides remaining a leading cause nationally in jails. Newport News has been an outlier in the region for volume.

The mayor has publicly discussed plans for a new multi-story justice complex that would replace the current city jail, reflecting awareness of facility and operational pressures. In that context, his comment at the women’s forum appears to be a blunt warning that continued deaths—especially preventable ones involving failed supervision or mental-health care—could prompt DOJ scrutiny and a consent decree similar to the one that hit the regional jail.