Former JCCC warden sues Department of Corrections
Madison Stuerman
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A discrimination lawsuit filed by the former warden of Jefferson City Correctional Center provides details about the workings of the facility, including when multiple inmates died by homicide.
The lawsuit filed by Doris Falkenrath, the warden at JCCC from April 2021 until June 2024, claims that she was discriminated against for her race, gender, age and disability.
Falkenrath claims that when she took over as warden, she experienced a hostile environment. Her lawsuit states that operational issues and staffing shortages got worse while she was at JCCC.
“JCCC faced increasing safety risks, including offender deaths due to fentanyl overdoses, suicides, and other causes. Staff were regularly assaulted, and gang activity increased,” the lawsuit states.
Falkenrather claims staff suffered injuries, attacks and “escalating security incidents” during 2022 and 2023, but her superiors didn’t lend her proper support. This includes three offender homicides, documents state.
A superior called the “director” is listed in documents by the initials “A.P.” Former Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe announced her retirement in November 2023.
Falkenrath’s lawsuit also details the time around when Othel Moore Jr. died in custody and the use of the Correctional Emergency Response Team.
The CERT members were dispatched to JCCC as part of a callout at Falkenrath’s request after a homicide and other violent incidents in October 2023, according to documents. The “callout” was scheduled for Dec. 8, 2023.
Falkenrath said she was not at the prison at the time because of a funeral, but the deputy warden later told her about Moore’s death. Moore is not mentioned by name in the lawsuit, and any names of the other employees are labeled as initials.
Falkenrath claims that after Moore’s death, detectives from Cole County requested video footage, and that when she reached out to provide the footage, she never heard from the investigator. That is when she said another official told her the investigator would instead be working with detectives.
The lawsuit claims she cooperated with officials from Cole County when asked, but felt that she was being blamed.
The lawsuit says Falkenrath also filed a complaint about alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
In June, Falkenrath said the deputy director told her she was being disciplined for Moore’s death, alleging that she didn’t cooperate with the Cole County Sheriff’s Office.
Falkenrath is suing the department on six counts of discrimination based on race, gender, age and disability, along with hostile work environment and illegal retaliation.
A spokesperson told ABC 17 News that the Department of Corrections does not comment on litigation.