Protect the Accused — Demand Independent Advocates During WA DOC Cell Searches and Drug Testing

My husband's life was upended by a single retaliatory cell search—conducted without oversight, without accountability, and without an advocate present to witness the truth.

Because Washington DOC staff violated their own policies during that search, our family has lost everything that keeps us connected and human. We've been stripped of video visits, emails, and special visits for an entire year. He's been denied commissary, hygiene items, and access to store for twelve months. All of this punishment was triggered by a search that lacked transparency, lacked integrity, and lacked any third-party witness to protect him from retaliation.
This is not discipline. This is institutional abuse. Washington's prisons operate without safeguards for the accused. Staff conduct searches, drug tests, and document alleged infractions with no oversight—often targeting individuals who speak out, advocate for others, or simply exist in vulnerable conditions. The absence of a trained, independent advocate allows retaliation to flourish and false documentation to go unchallenged.
This is about dignity. This is about truth. This is about protecting 

To: Washington State Legislators, Department of Corrections Leadership, and Oversight Committees

We, the undersigned families, advocates, and community members, demand the creation of a state-funded, independent advocacy program to protect incarcerated individuals during high-stakes encounters with Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) staff—including cell searches, accusations, drug testing, and evidence documentation.

Currently, DOC staff are allowed to search cells, confiscate property, conduct drug tests, and document alleged evidence without any third-party oversight—even when the incarcerated individual is being retaliated against, harassed, or falsely accused. These unchecked procedures often result in fabricated infractions, destroyed personal property, degraded drug test results, and psychological harm.

This unchecked power is especially dangerous given the documented lack of oversight, poor training, and untreated mental health instability among DOC staff, which fuels punitive and retaliatory behavior. Incarcerated individuals are left vulnerable to abuse, silencing, and false documentation—without any advocate to protect them.

We Demand:

1. A DOC-funded, independent advocate be present during any cell search, accusation, documentation of alleged evidence, or drug testing procedure.
2. Real-time documentation and oversight of staff conduct during these encounters, especially when the incarcerated individual has previously reported retaliation.
3. A trauma-informed protocol for searches and drug testing involving vulnerable populations, including survivors of abuse, individuals with disabilities, and those facing systemic targeting.
4. Legal access to search records, drug test results, and confiscated items, with the right to challenge false documentation through an advocate.
5. A witnessed chain of custody for all drug testing samples and confiscated evidence, verified and signed by the independent advocate to prevent tampering, degradation, or falsification.

Why Drug Testing Must Be Included:

• Urinary analysis tests are routinely mishandled due to staff's lack of training, resulting in degraded samples and inaccurate results.
• These flawed tests are used to justify infractions, loss of privileges, and further retaliation.
• Without an advocate and a verified chain of custody, incarcerated individuals have no protection against falsified or misinterpreted results.
• The absence of oversight allows staff misconduct to go unchecked, especially in facilities with known patterns of abuse.

Why This Matters:

• Incarcerated people are routinely punished without due process.
• Retaliatory searches and drug tests are used to silence whistleblowers and survivors.
• Families and legal teams are denied transparency and recourse.
• Washington must not allow unchecked power to destroy lives behind closed doors.
• DOC staff must be held accountable for misconduct driven by systemic dysfunction.

Let us protect the accused. Let us end retaliatory searches and flawed drug tests. Let us restore dignity in Washington prisons.