‘These are human beings, too.’ Two more state prisoners die, taking COVID death toll to 15
Two more inmates have died from COVID-19 in Kentucky state prisons, raising this year’s death toll in the system to 15 prisoners and two Department of Corrections employees.
The novel coronavirus has overwhelmed Kentucky’s state and federal prisons despite attempts — sometimes belatedly — to conduct mass testing, segregate sick inmates and curb the spread of the virus by using personal protective equipment.
Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday blamed “community spread,” or the rapid transmission of COVID-19 around Kentucky, for the outbreaks behind bars. Prison employees come and go every day, Beshear said.
“What we’re seeing in each of these places is we’re stable, we’re stable, we’re stable, and then boom, it spreads so fast,” Beshear said at his daily news conference.
Lottie Carlin’s husband is an inmate at Kentucky State Reformatory in Oldham County, where 11 inmates and one employee have died. So far, Carlin said Tuesday, her husband has not gotten sick. But the prison inadvertently has allowed the virus to spread by failing in several precautionary measures involving inmates and staff.
“It’s very upsetting to watch it spread in there and not be able to do anything to protect your loved one. And when the state lets it happen, it comes across like this attitude of ‘Hey, if these guys die, then OK, that’s just less people in prison for us to pay for,’” Carlin said.
“You know what? These are human beings, too,” Carlin said. “They have loved ones who worry about them.”
The ACLU of Kentucky, which unsuccessfully sued to win early release for prison inmates who were scared of catching the virus behind bars, said this outcome was predictable. Although Beshear cut short the sentences of hundreds of inmates with executive orders to reduce the prison population, that clearly proved inadequate, the ACLU said.
“The fact that after all these months we’re still having these conversations is tragic and deeply concerning,” said Aaron Tucek, an ACLU legal fellow. “The dangers posed by COVID-19 in congregate environments like prisons have been well known since this spring.”
Both of the newest inmate casualties were housed at Kentucky State Reformatory, which is primarily meant to hold the medically vulnerable. It has seen repeated COVID-19 outbreaks since July that have infected hundreds of people.
As of Monday, 161 of the prison’s 839 inmates were actively infected, as were 14 employees, according to the Department of Corrections.
The two new casualties were:
▪ A 79-year-old man from Boone County who died Friday at the hospital after fighting the virus for eight days. He was serving 15 years for manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence, and;
▪ An 87-year-old man from Pendleton County who died Saturday at the hospital, the same day he tested positive for COVID-19. He was serving a life sentence for murder and persistent felony offender.
Across Kentucky’s 14 state prisons, which collectively house 10,120 people, there were 1,108 infected inmates on Monday and 134 infected employees, according to the Department of Corrections. Half of the prisons appear to have an outbreak in progress.
The hardest hit facility is Lee Adjustment Center, a privately owned prison in Lee County that is leased by the state of Kentucky. At Lee Adjustment Center, 86 percent of the 753 inmates are infected, as are 32 employees, according to the Department of Corrections. Four of those inmates are hospitalized.
“We are closely monitoring the situation at Lee Adjustment Center just as we always do with COVID-19 outbreaks in our state-run facilities. These are our inmates at LAC and the Department of Corrections cares about them and their well-being,” said state Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews.
The Corrections Department suspects the virus’ rapid spread at Lee Adjustment Center may be due to the prison’s design, which is “open bay,” opening into one large area, said spokeswoman Lisa Lamb. When the first inmate cases were reported, they came from different housing units and buildings around the prison, Lamb said.
“DOC arranged for mass testing of all inmates and staff at the privately-operated Lee Adjustment Center, just as it has for several of the state facilities,” Lamb said.
“Cloth masks for inmates and staff were provided by DOC in early April and have been supplemented to ensure the inmates have a fresh one available at all times,” Lamb said. “Masks are mandatory for all staff and inmates. All prisons have enhanced sanitization and staff are medically screened upon entry.”
Other states are doing as badly as Kentucky, if not worse. An analysis of state prison data by the nonprofit Marshall Project in New York ranked Kentucky at no. 17 — toward the middle of the pack — for per capita inmate deaths during the pandemic.
There also are COVID-19 outbreaks of varying sizes inside the federal government’s prisons in Ashland, Inez, Lexington, Manchester and Pine Knot. By far the largest outbreak is in Ashland, where the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website on Tuesday reported 162 inmates and 14 employees actively infected, but no deaths.
Earlier this year, nine inmates died from a COVID-19 outbreak at the federal prison in Lexington.
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in Washington did not respond to requests for comment this week on the current outbreaks at its Kentucky facilities.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
