Federal Judge Rules Prison System Has Failed To Protect Inmates From COVID-19
A federal court on Tuesday ordered the Hawaii correctional system to finally follow its own official plan for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, but stopped short of appointing a special master to oversee efforts to prevent infections in state prisons and jails.
Inmates and staff who alleged the state failed to follow its own Pandemic Response Plan were “credible,” and the lawyers who filed a lawsuit accusing the state of violating the inmates’ constitutional rights during the pandemic likely will win the case at trial, U.S. District Court Judge Jill Otake said.
In a 69-page ruling issued Tuesday, Otake ruled the state Department of Public Safety failed to protect inmates from coronavirus outbreaks that have caused the deaths of at least nine prisoners so far.
The state claimed its failures to follow protective protocols during the pandemic were “occasional lapses,” but Otake found practices such as cramming 40 to 60 inmates in a single room in the Hilo jail “demonstrate objective deliberate indifference.”
Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/07/federal-judge-rules-prison-system-has-failed-to-protect-inmates-from-covid-19/