By LEE WILLIAMS, ESTEBAN PARRA and PATRICK JACKSON,
The News Journal
Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that federal investigators found "substantial civil rights violations" inside four Delaware prisons. Federal officials also revealed they have reached a settlement with the Delaware Department of Correction, ending a nine-month investigation into how the state provides health care to its 6,800 inmates.
Federal prison regulators identified a host of problems inside the prisons, including inadequate screening and health assessments, inadequate treatment of inmates with infectious diseases, inadequate treatment of inmates with serious mental illness, and deficiencies in the state's suicide-prevention measures.
They found substantial civil rights violations at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution, Young Correctional Institution, the Delaware Correctional Center and the Sussex Correctional Institution.
By signing the 87-point agreement, the state promises to correct the deficiencies and "meet generally accepted professional standards."
Correction Commissioner Stan Taylor estimated the improvements could cost from $3 million to $4.5 million, a 10 percent to 15 percent increase to the $30 million his department spends on inmate health care. But one state legislator predicted the price tag could reach $30 million or more.
In the agreement and accompanying 20-page findings letter sent to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, the Justice Department points out the state "cooperated thoroughly" with investigators during the process. However, the state does not admit to civil rights violations or other violations of federal law.
"We're pleased the state cooperated during the investigation and encouraged that the state has agreed to commit themselves to make improvements that the department has recognized are needed," said U.S. Attorney Colm Connolly. "Obviously, we're disappointed there were constitutional violations uncovered by the investigation."
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched its probe in March after a special report in The News Journal revealed dangerously inadequate health care and extraordinarily high death rates, especially from AIDS, within the state's prisons.
The written settlement, signed by Attorney General Carl Danberg and Taylor, calls on the state to revamp its prison health care system and to report its progress regularly to the Justice Department. In addition, the state must find and pay for an independent monitor who will oversee improvements.
According to the documents, the settlement between the state and the Justice Department remains in effect for three years, although the state can get off earlier if it achieves "substantial compliance" with each portion of the agreement.
Taylor said the state disagrees with the Justice Department on whether there were civil rights violations.
"Frankly, and they [federal regulators] also agree it's better to move to solve problems than argue about whether there are civil rights violations," Taylor said. "This agreement gets us past that. If they wanted to press the issue, we would have fought that. In the meantime money that could have been spent on health care would have been spent on lawyers."
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner pronounced herself pleased with the agreement: "Our Department of Correction can now spend its time focusing on providing quality medical and mental health care for inmates rather than continuing to assist with an ongoing federal investigation."
Danberg noted the state conducted its own investigation, the results of which were forwarded to federal investigators, who then confirmed the findings. "It was our intent from the start to resolve this as quickly and efficiently as possible," he said.
Attorney General-elect Beau Biden said he had not seen the Department of Justice's agreement, but said he will enforce the settlement after he takes office on Tuesday.
Rep. James "JJ" Johnson, D-Jefferson Farms, said the settlement doesn't obscure the fact that the system needs fixing.
"I feel, myself, as a member of the Legislature and the leadership of this state, that we have an obligation to do something about this," he said. "I'm not one to point fingers or say 'Someone should have done this or should have done that.' ... But we have a responsibility and I am ready, and I hope the rest of the legislators are ready, to step to the plate and meet it."
An early critic of problems in the prison medical system, Senate Minority Leader Charles Copeland, R-West Farms, said he was disappointed the state didn't act to fix things before the federal government got involved. He noted that fixes could further strain a tight budget.
"We could be looking at spending another $10 million, $20 million, $30 million or more to fix this thing," Copeland said. "If we had acted a year-and-a-half ago, maybe we could have spared the taxpayers some of this expense."
The settlement and Justice Department finding of civil rights violations could bolster nearly a dozen inmate lawsuits pending against the state. Dover lawyer Steve Hampton, who represents several inmates and their families, said he continues to receive "heartbreaking" letters from inmates, pleading for help.
"I am very hopeful it will finally bring some relief to the many prisoners who are continuing to suffer horribly from the lack of adequate medical care in the Delaware prisons," he said.
Hampton represented the family of Anthony Pierce, who became known as "the brother with two heads" as an inmate at Sussex Correctional Institution. Pierce, who was profiled in a series of articles by The News Journal, died from a brain tumor after his condition was mishandled by prison medical staff. The state settled a wrongful death lawsuit in a confidential agreement last year.
For Susie and Laretta Wilson, news of the investigation's findings brought some relief Friday evening.
"This is the first step in someone identifying that there is a problem and that someone has to take responsibility for it," said Laretta Wilson, whose nephew, Jermaine Lamar Wilson, was found hanged in prison Feb. 18, 2005.
The Department of Correction ruled it a suicide, but a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family claimed Jermaine Wilson was murdered. Correction officials confused him with another prisoner who had a similar name and covered up their mistake, the lawsuit alleges.
"I know they were in the wrong," said Jermaine Wilson's mother, Susie Wilson. "I just hope this makes things better."
Susie Wilson, who wept at the news, said it couldn't have come on a better day. Friday was Jermaine Wilson's son's 4th birthday.
"It's just time for justice to be served," she said.
State Rep. Hazel D. Plant, D-Wilmington Central, said she was happy to hear about the agreement and hopes that Delaware inmates will now be treated "fairly."
"The damage is already done; why continue the abuse," said Plant, whose granddaughter, Maneeka Plant, 24, was killed in 1999 by Michael L. Jones and Darrel D. Page. Both men were sentenced to life in prison. "By mistreating them, it is not going to bring back my grandbaby."
Plant said she has spoken to fellow legislators about prison reform, but few seemed interested. "The don't give a damn about what happens to them," she said.
Others agree.
"Wow. That's huge," said the Rev. Christopher Bullock, co-founder the Delaware Coalition for Prison Reform and Justice. "I'm very pleased that justice is being served."
Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at 324-2362 or lwilliams@delawareonline.com. Contact Esteban Parra at 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com. Contact Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com
