Close prisons, improve care

February 22, 2007

It's no coincidence that the first prison the state picked to close -- Southern Michigan Correctional Facility -- is one of the three Jackson prisons under federal oversight.

A medical monitor and Free Press investigation have exposed severe medical problems at the prison, where a 21-year-old mentally ill inmate died in August of heat and thirst. Unfortunately, health care at Michigan's 40 other prisons, where there is virtually no oversight, is probably even worse.

Michigan must move forward with a plan to close prisons, and Southern Michigan Correctional Facility -- an inefficient, hard-to-monitor prison built in the 1930s -- is a logical candidate. It will close by July, and the state will move the 1,500 inmates to other prisons or release them.

In moving sick, disabled and fragile inmates, however, the state must protect their health and safety. Corrections ought to delay any inmate transfers for at least two weeks to assess health needs and ensure an orderly and safe transfer to another prison that can meet those needs.

The state must also assure the court, and the public, that mandated improvements to medical care will continue, and that closing the Jackson prison is not an opportunity to continue to expose inmates to egregious, sometimes deadly medical care, and taxpayers to enormous liability.

A February report by the medical monitor shows problems at the Jackson prison may be getting even worse. Independent oversight is essential. With the closing of one of the few prisons under a federal monitor, the Legislature must restore the Corrections Ombudsman Office. If not, U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen may have no other choice but to extend his authority to other prisons.

Copyright © 2007 Detroit Free Press Inc.