蜜桃传媒

The opening arguments today kick off the first trial in the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 broader suit, filed in federal court in 2014, alleging that the mental health and medical needs of prisoners with serious 鈥� even life-threatening conditions 鈥� are routinely ignored.

This phase of the trial is expected to last eight weeks. A separate trial on the medical issues is expected next year.

The suit describes how the lack of care from the cash-strapped, under-staffed system amounts to 鈥渄eliberate indifference鈥� by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) 鈥� a violation of the U.S. Constitution鈥檚 ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson granted class action status to the mental health portion of the lawsuit in late November, meaning that court rulings in this phase of the case will apply to all prisoners in the system.

鈥淎labama鈥檚 failure to provide mental health care to the people it incarcerates puts lives at risk,鈥� said 蜜桃传媒 Senior Staff Attorney Maria Morris. 鈥淭his lack of treatment is inhumane and unconstitutional. No one in an Alabama prison was sentenced to this kind suffering.鈥�

The 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 investigation found severe problems throughout the prison system. Facilities where mentally ill prisoners are housed have been left to decay. The system is understaffed and uses outdated psychotropic drugs. Some prisoners with mental health problems are placed in solitary confinement and all but forgotten. Nonmedical treatment for the mentally ill is virtually non-existent.

Dr. Craig Haney, a prison expert retained by the 蜜桃传媒, toured the St. Clair Correctional Facility and described the conditions in his report: 鈥淚 saw prisoners living in barren 鈥楽uicide Watch Cells鈥� who had been kept there for months on end, and a prisoner residing in complete darkness, lying on an office floor in a room labeled 鈥楳ental Health鈥� and urinating in a plastic bucket.鈥�

Dr. Kathryn Burns, a mental health expert who submitted a report on behalf of the plaintiffs in July 2016, is expected to testify on Dec. 12. Burns visited nine Alabama prisons, where she inspected crisis watch cells, observed segregation and conducted interviews. She found that the failure to provide adequate staffing levels 鈥渄oes not appear to be in dispute,鈥� even by the private, for-profit company entrusted with prisoners鈥� mental health care, MHM Correctional Services.

When the judge certified the lawsuit as a class action last month, he noted that health practitioners have recognized that mental health care is lacking in the prison system.

鈥淲hen prison mental health administrators know and communicate that they need more staff to provide appropriate care for prisoners, and the Commissioner refuses to provide funding for this staff, not in any exercise of medical judgment but because he does not have the money this suffices to establish deliberate indifference and 鈥� in conjunction with a showing that this creates a substantial risk of serious harm鈥� to establish an Eighth Amendment violation,鈥� Thompson wrote.

The lack of resources has led to disastrous consequences.

Joshua Dunn, a named plaintiff, was never placed on the mental health care staff鈥檚 caseload despite cutting himself on his forearm with a razor on five different occasions and asking for mental health treatment after each episode, according to the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 complaint. After each suicide attempt, the only time Dunn saw a mental health professional was on the third day of each of his stints on suicide watch. The staffer simply asked if he was still suicidal.

Another prisoner 鈥渃ut herself with a razor blade she found in the suicide watch cell,鈥� according to the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 amended complaint. Still other prisoners have been placed in segregation 鈥� despite its harmful effects on mental health patients 鈥� for as long as seven years.

Burns, the mental health expert, described the toll the prison system鈥檚 failures has taken on prisoners: 鈥淚n sum, the deficiencies in ADOC 鈥� deny prisoners care for their serious mental illness leading to needless pain, suffering, self-injury, suicide and punishment for symptoms of untreated mental illness.鈥�

The solution, according to Morris of the 蜜桃传媒, is to reduce Alabama鈥檚 swollen prison population, caused by harsh sentencing policies that have given the state the third highest per-capita rate of incarceration in the country.

鈥淓ven many deeply conservative states are reducing their prison populations, making it more feasible to provide incarcerated people with the quality of care that is required under our Constitution,鈥� she said. 鈥淎labama must do the same.鈥�

Earlier this year, the 蜜桃传媒 settled a portion of the lawsuit regarding violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In that settlement, the ADOC committed to provide services and fair treatment to incarcerated people with disabilities.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 co-counsel include the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC; and Zarzaur, Mujumdar and Debrosse.