Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers?
by Matt Clarke
During the summer of 2020, Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis went weeks without reporting a single case of COVID-19. That changed in September, when the number of cases at the over 600-bed prison exploded.
Between late September and mid-October, prison officials reported 28 new cases and, by October 16, 2020, 20 women were being housed in a gym set aside for COVID-19-positive prisoners. Speaking anonymously, prison staff have indicated that the prison administration was not testing prisoners for the virus to reduce the number of reported positives.
A staff member told Side Effects that the prison had access to a rapid testing machine, but it was not being widely used. Additional testing could help protect elderly prisoners and those with pre-existing conditions, but it was not being done.
“Why wait until somebody dies,” asked the staff member. “If you knew these people were positive, you would isolate them, right? To me, it’s still like, ‘Okay, we just don’t want to know.’”
The lack of testing also endangers prison staff, 10 of whom contracted COVID-19 between mid-September and mid-October and some of whom had to arrange their own testing privately, according to the staff members. They added that staff who live with a COVID-19-positive person or were otherwise exposed to an active case are nonetheless being required to report for work.
However, as of mid-October, only 24 staff members had been tested.
“There’s really no way to know who does and does not have it,” said one staff member who noted that one high-level prison employee was tested while other staff were turned away. “That upset people.”
The staff members said employees were too afraid of retaliation to speak up and noted that there appeared to be more COVID-19 cases among the prisoners than is being reported.
“Most of the units now have a case or two,” said a staff member on October 9. “We’re by no means slowing down. We had four new positives today.”
Sources: wfyi.org, sideeffectspublicmedia.org
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- The Way Prisoners Flag Guard Abuse, Inadequate Health Care and Unsanitary Conditions Is Broken, by Shannon Heffernan
- Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration, by Edward Lyon
- New York Parole System Badly in Need of Repair, by Kevin Bliss
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Pandemic Update: News on Vaccines and Prison and Jail Staffing, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Urgent Need for Vaccine Administration in Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers, by Maya Chaudhuri, Aaron Littman, Sharon Dolovich
- Almost 300,000 Fell Ill and 2,000 Died from COVID-19 in U.S. Jails, Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- California Loses Round in Legal Fight to Deny Parole Based on Gang Affiliation, by David Reutter
- Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers?, by Matthew Clarke
- How a Private Prison Company’s Defamation Suit Against One of Its Critics Backfired, by Madison Pauley
- After $625,000 Settlement, Oregon Deputy Charged in Assault of Prisoner, by Mark Wilson
- Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff’s Office Sued in Federal Court for Treatment of Transgender Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Judge Slaps ICE, GEO Group Over “Abominable Performance” and Officials Who Lied During Testimony, by David Reutter
- No Summary Judgment on Oregon Prisoner’s Retaliatory Termination Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota State and Federal Prisoners COVID Case Surge Sparks ACLU Lawsuit, by Derek Gilna
- Missouri Prisoner Pleaded for Release Before Dying of COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Ninth Circuit Finds California Prisoner’s Administrative Remedies Effectively Unavailable, by Mark Wilson
- Fourth Circuit Holds Prisoner’s Indefinite Period of Solitary Confinement at Virginia Supermax May Amount to Atypical and Significant Hardship, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Educational Aid Restored for State and Federal Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- Progress Made in Fight Against Prison Gerrymandering But Battle Continues, by Douglas Ankney
- COVID-19: What Texas Must Do to Save Prisoners’ Lives, by Edward Lyon
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Lower Court’s Dismissal of California Prisoner’s Religious Freedom Lawsuit, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota Prison Guard Fired for Excessive Force After Brawl Linked to Floyd Protests, by Anthony Accurso
- New Details Emerge on Senseless Death in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
- $1.1 Million Settlement in Kentucky Jail Sex Abuse Suit, by David Reutter
- Justice Department Report Documents Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center’s Poor Response to COVID-19 Crisis, by Kevin Bliss
- Global Tel*Link Hit with Sanctions For Discovery Violations in Georgia Prison Call Class Action, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Judge in Georgia Grants Class Action Status to Prisoners’ Suit Against Global Tel*Link
- Fourth Circuit: ADA Relief Claims Improperly Dismissed in Virginia, by Mark Wilson
- Private Prison Companies Face Stock Crash, Credit Crunch, by Matthew Clarke
- Former BOP Director Norman Carlson, Who Developed Supermax Model, Dies at 86, by Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Pays Prisoners Pennies on the Dollar to Fight Fires, All in the Name of Saving Money, by Dale Chappell
- Mellon Foundation to Provide $5.25 Million in Program to Distribute Books to Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Experts Find “Deplorable” Conditions at Mississippi’s Parchman Prison, by David Reutter
- ICE Refused Help in Containing Coronavirus in New Mexico Detention Centers, by Kevin Bliss
- Troubled Ohio Jail Faces Two More Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Correctional Emergency Response Teams Face New Scrutiny in “Noose” Controversy, by Derek Gilna
- New Mexico Corrections Pays $1.4 Million to Settle Whistleblower Complaint Alleging Retaliation for Exposing Deficiencies in Corizon Medical Care, by Douglas Ankney
- Child Sexual Abuse: It’s Never Too Late to Speak Out, by Darrell Cochran
- No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions, by Alysia Santo, Joseph Neff
- Ninth Circuit Holds Intermediate Scrutiny Applies in Challenges to Facially Discriminatory Prison Regulations, by Matthew Clarke
- Overtime Payouts in California Prison System Approach $500 Million, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Florida State Prisons Scrub Key COVID Data From Website, Obscuring Magnitude of Inmate Deaths and Infections, by Laura Cassels
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Prisoners Have No Right to Paid or Unpaid Employment, by Matthew Clarke
- Legislative Exemption Let Fired Alaska Cop Be Rehired as Jailer, by Edward Lyon
- Prisoners Paid $2 Per Hour to Move COVID-19 Corpses in El Paso, Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- NY Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment on Claims of Improper Medication Seizure, Evidence Fabrication, Improper Frisk During Prison Visit, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota Man Out of Prison After Being Exonerated of Murder, by Edward Lyon
- $4.65 Million Settlement for Florida Female Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Brutal Beating by Guards, by David Reutter
- Federal Court Again Orders California DOC to Remedy Continuing ADA Violations, by Derek Gilna
- Decline in South Dakota State Prisoners Not Due to COVID, by Edward Lyon
- DOJ Report: Carceral Population Falls, 2017-2018, by Matthew Clarke
- COVID-19: The Politics of Prisoner Vaccination, by Kevin Bliss
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Tennessee DOC’s Hepatitis C Treatment Due to Lack of Funds, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Condemned Texas Prisoner Ruled Too Mentally Ill to Execute, April 1, 2024
- $9,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Heat-Related Illness Suit, April 1, 2024
- Oklahoma Jail Withholds Death Records, Fails to Report Five Since 2018, April 1, 2024
- North Carolina Court of Appeals Reinstates Parolee’s Parental Rights, Says Parole Conditions Barred Him from Visiting Minor Daughter, April 1, 2024
- Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, April 1, 2024
- Arizona Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment for Corizon Health in State Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Diabetes, April 1, 2024
- Nebraska Supreme Court Announces Probation Search Unlawful When Conducted After Original Term Expired and Before Hearing on Extending Term, March 15, 2024
- California Court of Appeal Reverses Denial of Full Resentencing Under SB 483, March 15, 2024
- South Carolina Sheriff Ordered to Pay $37,500 in Fees and Costs in Jail FOIA Case, March 1, 2024
- New York Prisoners with Chronic Pain Win Injunction to Receive Denied Medication, March 1, 2024
More from these topics:
- Grand Jury Slams Sacramento County for Delaying Jail Improvements Mandated in Consent Decree, April 1, 2024. Systemic Medical Neglect, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Jail Specific, Consent Decrees, Suicides, Grand Jury, Contempt.
- Months-Long Wisconsin Prison Lockdown Prompts Lawsuits, April 1, 2024. Systemic Medical Neglect, Overcrowding, Staffing, Lockdowns.
- $2,000 Paid to Former Arkansas Jail Detainees Given Horse Dewormer for COVID-19, April 1, 2024. Medication, Medical Experiments/Exploitation, COVID-19.
- One Detainee Dying Every Week in L.A. County Jails, April 1, 2024. Systemic Medical Neglect, Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions.
- At BOP California “Rape Club” Prison: Historic Ruling, FBI Raid, Warden Removed, April 1, 2024. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Whistleblowing, Retaliatory Searches, Retaliatory Segregation, Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Staffing, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Special Masters, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Special Master.
- Wellpath Held in Contempt in Suit at California Jail, March 1, 2024. California Forensic Medical Group, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Dental Care, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Mental Health.
- North Carolina Prison Official Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Program Fraud, March 1, 2024. Government Misconduct, COVID-19, Fraud and Deceit, Fraud and Theft Loss.
- See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Treat No Evil: Centurion and the Curse of For-Profit Prison Healthcare, Jan. 1, 2024. MHM Inc., Corizon, Centurion, Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Retaliation, Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Private Contractors, Frivolous Litigation, Disclosure of Records, Declaratory Judgment, Public Records, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, PLN Litigation, Censorship, Articles About PLN, Public Records Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), HRDC Litigation.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Uses COVID-19 Stimulus Check to Overturn Conviction, Jan. 1, 2024. COVID-19, Informants, Wrongful Conviction.
- Deaths While Incarcerated Up 18% in Louisiana, Jan. 1, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Reviews, COVID-19, Databases, Wrongful Death.