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The Prince George's County state's attorney and the county head of homeland security said this week they would welcome a federal investigation into whether a 19-year-old inmate was killed by guards at the county jail.

The responses of the two officials follow a request by the county branch of the NAACP for the U.S. Department of Justice to take over the investigation into the death of Ronnie White and to consider filing charges against the jail's leadership.

County NAACP President June White Dillard announced the request in the wake of media reports that Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) will not seek an indictment against officers suspected of killing Ronnie White in his jail cell from the second grand jury that has been convened in the case.

"The family of Ronnie White wants to know who killed him," Dillard said at a press conference Tuesday organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "They want that matter resolved."

The Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI will review the matter to determine whether to investigate, Alejandro Miyar, a Justice Department spokesman, said Thursday.

Ivey said Monday that he would welcome a Justice Department investigation if the agency decides to get involved, but said it is premature to speculate about how his office and federal officials would pursue the case.

"If DOJ decides to do it by themselves, that's great. If they want us to help, that's great. If they want some third variation, that's great," Ivey said.

Dillard is also requesting that the Justice Department investigate conditions at the jail and to file charges against the county government or jail officials, citing a series of incidents that include White's death, an inmate who committed suicide in his cell by overdosing on medication, handguns being stolen from the jail's armory, an officer smuggling cell phones to gang members, two officers being suspended for allegedly having sex with inmates and a former inmate who allegedly was beaten by a correctional officer in 2007 and who won $32,500 in court damages in May.

Most of those incidents happened before the jail's interim director, Mary Lou McDonough, was appointed in June 2008. But Bobby Henry, an attorney for White's family, said at the press conference that conditions at the jail are bad enough to warrant the investigation.

"There was a lot of waterboarding going on down at Guantanamo Bay, but they did not report anybody being murdered," Henry said. "That is not the case in Prince George's County."

McDonough's office referred requests for comment to Vernon Herron, the county's head of public safety and homeland security.

Herron said he does not believe the incidents warrant a federal investigation.

"Corrections facilities throughout the country have similar problems," said Herron, who noted that the jail has upgraded its camera system to record activity in much of the jail and reassigned corrections supervisors to spend more time patrolling cell blocks. "Incidents happen, we deal with them right away."

But Herron said he would cooperate with federal officials if they decided to investigate the jail.

"We have nothing to hide," he said. "We would welcome the Justice Department or any other federal agency to come in and do a thorough investigation."

White, 19, of Laurel was arrested June 28, 2008, after allegedly killing Sgt. Richard Findley of the Prince George's County Police Department by striking him with a stolen truck. White was found dead in his cell around 10:30 a.m. the next day. The state medical examiner's office ruled his injuries were consistent with homicide by strangulation.

Corrections officers allegedly told investigators White hanged himself. The sheet White had allegedly used disappeared but was later found, and a camera taken into the cell by doctors allegedly malfunctioned, leaving no record of the guards' response.

At the time, the jail's surveillance cameras could monitor activity but could not record. The county has since spent $300,000 to upgrade the cameras so they could record and to install new cameras, including three in cells for high-profile inmates such as the one where White was held.

During a May 12 hearing, Ivey told members of the Prince George's County Council that he would not seek an indictment against the guards.

"I'm not asking for one," Ivey said. "If I get something new that I think would add to [the case], I would."

An earlier grand jury that convened late in 2008 also adjourned without issuing an indictment after its term expired in December.

Ivey declined to confirm that he will not request an indictment from the second grand jury or elaborate on why no indictment was returned by the first jury, saying the deliberations are subject to rules of secrecy.

Ivey also told the council that the Maryland State Police, which is leading the investigation in order to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest, was wrapping up its investigation.

"Maryland State Police have done about all they're gonna do," Ivey said.

A state police spokesman referred questions about the investigation to Ivey's office.