Case of inmates seeking release amid coronavirus pandemic will be heard by state Supreme Court
A lawsuit seeking the release of inmates who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus will be heard by the state Supreme Court in April, according to a ruling Friday.
The state’s high court agreed to give the case accelerated review.
“We are pleased that the Court agreed to hear this important case, and on an expedited basis,” Nick Allen with Columbia Legal Services, the group representing the inmates, said in a press release Monday. “We continue to hear ongoing concerns from family members of people who are inside prisons that DOC (the state Department of Corrections) is not taking any steps to immediately reduce the prison population to prevent the spread of the virus.”
The lawsuit, filed March 24 in the state Supreme Court, asks DOC and the governor to release pregnant women, people over the age of 50, and those with underlying medical conditions. It also asks for the release of people on work release and those who have early-release dates in the next 18 months.
DOC said in a statement Monday: “We appreciate people’s concerns for their loved ones and want to assure everyone that the Department of Corrections is doing everything in our power to protect those in our custody, especially the most vulnerable. While we currently have one confirmed case of an incarcerated individual who has been housed in a community hospital since early March, we still have zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst our incarcerated population throughout Washington state’s correctional facilities.”
The statement went on to say that DOC: “is also evaluating the three statutorily sanctioned release options available to our agency. ... It is important that the decisions we make are done with recognition that we are part of a global health crisis and limit the impacts to other critical community systems who are engaged in the larger public health response.”
A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Pierce County Superior Court.
In a court filing in that case DOC wrote: “For weeks, Washington Department of Corrections (DOC or Department) leadership, emergency operations managers and health services staff have focused intensely on implementing measures to mitigate the threat COVID-19 poses to the incarcerated population.”
Among other steps, the filing says DOC has put precautions in place for vulnerable populations, implemented screening for staff and people who are incarcerated, come up with testing protocols, gotten test kits and administered them, isolated inmates with coronavirus symptoms and quarantined those who might have been exposed, suspended visitation, put extra sanitation and hygiene requirements in place and worked to implement social distancing guidelines.
DOC’s website Monday said their confirmed cases of COVID-19 included one staff member at headquarters, two staff members at the Monroe prison, and two staff members at Peninsula Work Release, including contractor staff.
Of 111 tests of those incarcerated, 78 were negative. The other 33 are pending.
One Monroe inmate taken to a medical center March 3 for something unrelated was tested for the virus while he was there. That test was negative, but another was done later during his time at the medical facility. DOC learned Friday that that test was positive. He’s stable and is still at the medical facility.
One of the five petitioners in the case accepted by the Supreme Court is a 21-year-old serving time at the women’s prison near Gig Harbor. She is due to give birth in May.
Two other petitioners were sentenced in Pierce County — a 62-year-old diabetic serving time in Aberdeen and a 40-year-old incarcerated in Monroe who has an early-release date in December.
Former DOC secretary Dan Pacholke filed a declaration in support of their lawsuit.
“Reducing the population will improve the health and safety of people in custody who are currently symptomatic and/or test positive as well as individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 but are not yet showing symptoms and have not yet been tested,” the declaration said. “As in the community outside DOC facilities, the numbers of individuals in both categories will increase exponentially.”
In addition to seeking the release of vulnerable inmates, the lawsuit asks the high court to order that those in custody get “unfettered access to soap and water, single-use towels, and hand sanitizer,” and that DOC put a plan in place to make sure inmates get proper screening, testing and treatment for COVID-19.
The petition describes crowded conditions at some facilities and alleges people are sleeping on cell floors at the prison in Shelton as a result of quarantining.
Columbia Legal Services said in its press release that if the state fails “to reduce the threat of COVID-19 spreading in our jails and prisons, they will put not only an already vulnerable population in danger, but also will place the broader public at further risk and place a strain on our state’s hospitals and health care systems.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 3:53 PM.
