Family members and advocates press St. Louis leaders over jail deaths at public safety meeting

Family members of people who died in the St. Louis City Justice Center and community advocates used the Public Safety Committee’s public‑comment period on Nov. 13 to demand transparency and policy changes.

Anne Louise Schmidt, who coordinates a court‑watch program at the Freedom Community Center, told the committee she had reviewed court data and said the jail has experienced more deaths in recent years than before. “We’ve now had the 20 first death in less than 5 years,” Schmidt said, adding that deaths have included people with diabetes, dehydration and other treatable conditions.

Samantha Hayes, who identified herself as the sister of Samuel Lamar Hayes Jr., said her brother died at the Justice Center on July 19, 2025. “My brother was wrongfully murdered in Saint Louis City Justice Center, 07/19/2025,” Hayes said. She said the family received a “graphic video” of his death, described what she called a lack of compassion and called on city officials for transparency, support and justice.

Both speakers urged the committee and city leaders to take specific steps to address conditions in the jail and reduce future deaths. No city official offered a substantive operational response during the meeting; Brett Delaria of the Office of Violence Prevention said he would provide additional information where he could but noted a staff change in OVP and limits to the information he could offer at that time.

The public comments followed OVP’s presentation about Prop S funding and came amid broader questions from committee members about follow‑up and oversight of city programs. The committee did not announce immediate corrective measures in response to the public comments at this meeting.

What comes next: The comments were entered into the committee record. Committee members may pursue follow‑up with city departments and officials outside this meeting; no specific actions or investigations were announced on the floor.