Judge blocks Jackson inmate transfers

Thursday, February 22, 2007

By Pat Shellenbarger

The Grand Rapids Press

KALAMAZOO -- A federal judge temporarily barred the state from going ahead with plans to transfer inmates from a Jackson prison slated for closure after attorneys raised concerns some medically fragile prisoners could be harmed when moved to other facilities.

U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen made it clear he will not stop the state from closing the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility, but on Wednesday he gave the attorneys seven days to come up with a plan to assure the prisoners receive proper care in the process.

The decision to close the prison and parts of the adjacent Egeler Reception and Guidance Center put the inmates' attorneys in the unusual position of asking the judge to delay shutting down a facility they believe provides inferior care for medically and mentally ill prisoners.

"One would think they'd be desperate to have the inmates moved out of there," Assistant Attorney General Peter Govorchin said. "You'd think it's the worst possible place, yet they're telling me, 'Don't let anybody out of there.' "

Elizabeth Alexander, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, said she does not oppose the closing, but wants to assure inmates receive proper care. She was concerned medical records and prescriptions might be lost in the process.

"Everybody agrees this is the facility that's causing the most suffering," she said. "In order to protect these fragile prisoners, there's got to be some sort of organized process to make sure we don't have a catastrophe ... . In the worst case, people will die."

Alexander said she suspects the Corrections Department marked the Jackson prison for closure to get out from under federal court jurisdiction in a lawsuit that has been pending since the early 1980s.

After a series of riots, several inmates filed the class-action lawsuit, known as the Hadix case for one of the original plaintiffs, claiming conditions in the former State Prison of Southern Michigan amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. In the years after the riots, that prison, once the largest in the world, was later divided into four facilities. The medical and mental health care of inmates in those prisons remains an open issue in federal court.

The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility includes a dialysis unit for prisoners suffering kidney disease, a unit for chronically-ill inmates, and a segregation unit where 21-year-old inmate Timothy Souders died of dehydration in August while shackled to a cement slab. The dialysis unit might be transferred to the Ryan Correctional Facility near Detroit, Govorchin said, or the state might decide to hire a private clinic to provide dialysis.

The state can save $21 million this year and $92 million next year by closing the prison and transferring its 1,421 inmates, Govorchin said.

Dr. Robert Cohen, appointed by Enslen to monitor conditions in the Jackson prisons, suggested a doctor should review each inmate's records before allowing transfers to another facility. In a memo to a Corrections Department official, Cohen said prison doctors routinely fail to review medical charts or fill prescriptions for those suffering HIV, kidney disease and other serious illnesses.

The closing is part of an effort announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm earlier this month to stem a rapid rise in the cost of operating the state's 42 prisons, approaching $2 billion a year.

In an interview with The Press on Tuesday, Granholm said, "I think because of the cost savings we want to achieve, there may be some prisons closed."

She did not say the decision to close the Jackson prison had been made and that employees were being notified.

Send e-mail to the author: pshellenbarger@grpress.com



Judge blocks Jackson inmate transfers Thursday, February 22, 2007 By Pat Shellenbarger The Grand Rapids Press KALAMAZOO -- A federal judge temporarily barred the state from going ahead with plans to transfer inmates from a Jackson prison slated for closure after attorneys raised concerns some medically fragile prisoners could be harmed when moved to other facilities. U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen made it clear he will not stop the state from closing the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility, but on Wednesday he gave the attorneys seven days to come up with a plan to assure the prisoners receive proper care in the process. The decision to close the prison and parts of the adjacent Egeler Reception and Guidance Center put the inmates' attorneys in the unusual position of asking the judge to delay shutting down a facility they believe provides inferior care for medically and mentally ill prisoners. "One would think they'd be desperate to have the inmates moved out of there," Assistant Attorney General Peter Govorchin said. "You'd think it's the worst possible place, yet they're telling me, 'Don't let anybody out of there.' " Elizabeth Alexander, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, said she does not oppose the closing, but wants to assure inmates receive proper care. She was concerned medical records and prescriptions might be lost in the process. "Everybody agrees this is the facility that's causing the most suffering," she said. "In order to protect these fragile prisoners, there's got to be some sort of organized process to make sure we don't have a catastrophe ... . In the worst case, people will die." Alexander said she suspects the Corrections Department marked the Jackson prison for closure to get out from under federal court jurisdiction in a lawsuit that has been pending since the early 1980s. After a series of riots, several inmates filed the class-action lawsuit, known as the Hadix case for one of the original plaintiffs, claiming conditions in the former State Prison of Southern Michigan amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. In the years after the riots, that prison, once the largest in the world, was later divided into four facilities. The medical and mental health care of inmates in those prisons remains an open issue in federal court. The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility includes a dialysis unit for prisoners suffering kidney disease, a unit for chronically-ill inmates, and a segregation unit where 21-year-old inmate Timothy Souders died of dehydration in August while shackled to a cement slab. The dialysis unit might be transferred to the Ryan Correctional Facility near Detroit, Govorchin said, or the state might decide to hire a private clinic to provide dialysis. The state can save $21 million this year and $92 million next year by closing the prison and transferring its 1,421 inmates, Govorchin said. Dr. Robert Cohen, appointed by Enslen to monitor conditions in the Jackson prisons, suggested a doctor should review each inmate's records before allowing transfers to another facility. In a memo to a Corrections Department official, Cohen said prison doctors routinely fail to review medical charts or fill prescriptions for those suffering HIV, kidney disease and other serious illnesses. The closing is part of an effort announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm earlier this month to stem a rapid rise in the cost of operating the state's 42 prisons, approaching $2 billion a year. In an interview with The Press on Tuesday, Granholm said, "I think because of the cost savings we want to achieve, there may be some prisons closed." She did not say the decision to close the Jackson prison had been made and that employees were being notified. Send e-mail to the author: pshellenbarger@grpress.com Š2007 Grand Rapids Press Š 2007 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.