Despite ‘substantial risk of serious harm,’ judge tosses KY inmates’ COVID-19 lawsuit
A federal judge on Monday ruled against a small group of medically vulnerable state inmates who were suing for emergency release from the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Monday, 243 inmates and 32 employees have been infected with the coronavirus at KCIW, which is in the Pewee Valley community of Shelby County.
In his order dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove said the inmates “put forth sufficient evidence that they are incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm.”
But the inmates failed to show that the Kentucky Department of Corrections and the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet are ignoring the health risks posed by COVID-19, Van Tatenhove wrote.
“Based on the evidence presented, it is evident that respondents are aware of and understand the potential risk of serious harm to petitioners through exposure to the COVID-19 virus. It is also evident that respondents have taken numerous precautions to address the particular risks faced by individuals detained at KCIW,” he wrote.
Among the precautions being taken at the prison, he wrote: screening and isolating new inmates for 14 days; mass COVID-19 testing after the outbreak began; stronger sanitation measures; a temporary end to visitation; screening staff for symptoms of the virus; and distributing cloth masks to staff and inmates.
While it’s impossible for prison officials to allow for six feet of social distancing behind bars, the judge wrote, “the court finds that they do their best balancing social distancing and regulation applicable to the facility, so they do not exhibit deliberate indifference.”
The ACLU of Kentucky filed the suit in June on behalf of seven inmates at KCIW with serious and chronic medical problems that would make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
“In our dorm, we are pretty much never by ourselves. You’re always within arms’ reach of another person — like when you’re talking on the phone, you’re within arms’ reach of about seven other people who are either using the phones or waiting for their turn,” said one of the plaintiffs, 37-year-old April Hoover, in the suit.
Hoover takes medication for heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and has been placed on chronic care in the prison, according to the suit. She lives in a small cell with another woman on a floor where 18 inmates share two open toilets and a shower.
“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s decision that keeps our medically vulnerable clients incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women amid the novel coronavirus outbreak there,” ACLU staff attorney Heather Gatnarek said Monday.
“The ruling comes as COVID-19 cases surge across Kentucky,” Gatnarek said. “We know that prisons present uniquely dangerous conditions and we remain concerned about our clients’ risk of becoming very sick or dying.”
The state Department of Corrections has struggled to respond with COVID-19 outbreaks at several prisons.
As of Monday, 856 inmates and 143 employees had been infected across the state’s 13 adult prisons, with 11 inmates dying. There also have been virus outbreaks in federal prisons in Lexington and Manchester, with eight federal inmates dying at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington.
Fairly early in the pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear issued three executive orders that cut short the sentences of 1,236 state inmates serving time in state prisons and local jails. The Beshear administration has indicated that another executive order allowing early inmate releases could be forthcoming.
State officials said they were pleased to have their efforts recognized by the judge’s ruling on Monday.
“DOC will continue to work diligently to minimize health risks and is committed to following the proposed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control for correctional and detention facilities,” DOC spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said.
