Valley Street Jail Pays SHU Prisoners $244,000
Valley Street Jail Pays SHU Prisoners $244,000
by Derek Gilna
Valley Street Jail in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, will pay $244,000 to three former prisoners after an adverse 2004 jury verdict put the spotlight on substandard conditions in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, or SHU. Antonio King received $5,500; Jason Suprenant, $20,000; Palacio Paladin, $100,000; and Richard West, $50,000.
No one would characterize the special housing units in any jail, at any level, as luxury accommodations: limited showers, restricted communications with the outside world, crowded conditions, and other restrictions meant to make the stay as unpleasant as possible. However, even by those low standards, conditions at Valley Street Jail in New Hampshire were adjudged to be abysmal.
The plaintiffs filed suit in federal district court in New Hampshire, alleging Section 1983 violations by the county, in their jail operations. According to the complaint, plaintiffs were forcibly transported to the SHU in handcuffs and shackles and guards would pull on their legs in such a way as to have them strike their heads and faces on the concrete wall or floor.
Once confined in the SHU, plaintiffs were on a “three-day” rotation, meaning they were only out of their cells for five minutes every 3 days. During that 5 minute period, they were cuffed and shackled and escorted naked to the shower, never permitted to remove their restraints.
Additionally, the SHU prisoners had “no television, no radio, no reading material, no access to legal papers, no soap, no toothpaste, and no toilet paper.” They were also denied telephone access, visits and contact with legal counsel. Likewise, the plaintiffs only received running water for their sinks and toilets at the guards’ discretion. Often, the water was turned off for long periods of time after prisoners used the toilet. Prisoners were also strip-searched several times a day for no other reason than harassment.
The jail was also accused of failing to properly apprise the plaintiffs as to why they were being taken to the SHU and failing to give plaintiffs the opportunity to properly answer the charges against them. Although disciplinary assignments to the SHU generally lasted 30 days, several of the prisoners were never put back in the jail’s general population, and remained in the SHU for the duration of their confinement.
According to U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAullife, “the evidence supported the jury’s finding that the unconstitutional conditions were imposed pursuant to a recognized prison policy, custom, or practice.” According to both the jail and prisoners confined, since the entry of the judgment against the jail, conditions have improved dramatically. Individuals confined in the SHU are now permitted out of their cells for an hour every day, have access to personal items and reading materials, are able to make telephone calls, and have appropriate access to showers. Also, water is only turned off when it appears that a prisoner is seeking to flood his cell.See: Surprenant v. Hillsborough, U.S.D.C. (N.H.), Case No. 1:02-cv-00391.
Sources: New Hampshire News Leader.
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Related legal case
Surprenant v. Hillsborough
| Year | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (N.H.), Case No. 1:02-cv-00391 |
| Level | District Court |
| Damages | 244,000 |