ACLU warns of COVID-19 risk at two more state prisons, says KY must test all inmates
The Kentucky ACLU is warning about “potential exposure” to COVID-19 at two more state prisons following a deadly outbreak at the Green River Correctional Complex in Muhlenberg County.
In a letter sent to Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration on Friday, the ACLU demanded that the Kentucky Corrections Department test all of the 11,383 inmates incarcerated in the state’s prisons for COVID-19 and either give an early release or place on home confinement those who would be medically vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
“You have a constitutional obligation to protect the incarcerated people in your care from the substantial risk of serious harm posed by COVID-19,” ACLU legal director Corey Shapiro wrote to Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews.
“You have weathered one outbreak at GRCC (Green River), and you have put in place some limited measures at other facilities.” Shapiro wrote. “And yet, despite your awareness of this harm, you persist in refusing to conduct mass testing of the incarcerated population, social distancing remains impossible in your facilities, and you have taken few — if any — actions to protect medically vulnerable people from this deadly virus.”
The ACLU is hearing reports of potential coronavirus exposure at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Oldham County and the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Shelby County, Shapiro wrote. The former prison houses 1,167 inmates; the latter, 641.
“Unfortunately, we now see some of the same warning signs at KCIW and Luther Luckett as GRCC displayed in the opening days of its outbreak,” Shapiro wrote. “People incarcerated in both facilities live in small, double-bunked cells in close quarters to others. Social distancing strategies have not been implemented in either facility, and large groups of people continue to congregate in common areas such as dining halls, gyms or the recreation yard.”
“People at Luther Luckett have indicated that — just as at Green River in early April — individuals who feel ill and who have a fever are sent to the segregation unit. Likewise, people at Luther Luckett have seen janitors coming in and out of the segregation unit in full protective equipment,” he wrote.
“At KCIW, a growing number of staff have become ill, with three positives among the staff as of Friday, June 5. Neither facility has implemented widespread testing for the presence of COVID-19, or even widespread screening for symptoms. These warning signs indicate that both facilities are poised to travel down the same dangerous and deadly path as GRCC,” he wrote.
In a statement Tuesday evening, the Corrections Department said its only major COVID-19 outbreak has been at Green River. Three KCIW employees have tested positive, but contact tracing with people they encountered indicate the coronavirus did not spread at the prison from them, said department spokeswoman Lisa Lamb.
Luther Luckett is not known to have any COVID-19 infections, although it has established a quarantine area as a precaution, Lamb said.
“We are using a unit at Luther Luckett that was previously a segregation unit as a medical quarantine area. This unit houses inmates returned from the community and medical or court related overnight trips,” Lamb said. “Upon their return, inmates are quarantined in this unit for 14 days. In an abundance of caution, our inmate cleaning team members assigned to this unit are issued full Tyvek suits when cleaning.”
“In close collaboration with the Department for Public Health, the DOC will continue to take all measures necessary to mitigate any health risks and contain the spread of the virus,” Lamb said.
So far, at least 363 inmates and 51 employees at Green River have been infected, with three inmate deaths at that facility, according to the website. Green River houses 889 inmates.
After an initial delay, the Corrections Department agreed in May to test all inmates and employees at Green River and segregate inmates into four separate housing units based on their COVID-19 exposure status. Kentucky has seen one other deadly COVID-19 outbreak behind bars, at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, where four inmates have died. That facility is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 12:47 PM.
