Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 10, 2006 22:34:59 GMT -5
Conditions at Albany County jail called 'tormenting' ---- 15 inmates sue,
claiming infestations, mildew
Claiming that correction officers violated their rights, 15 Albany County
jail inmates are suing for better living conditions and $5.5 million in
damages.
The class-action lawsuit that inmate Brian Brodhead filed in U.S. District
Court in Albany this week contends jail officials ignored repeated
requests to exterminate an infestation of mosquitoes that fly through
unscreened windows in the crowded east and west cellblocks as well as
flies and worms that foul the showers.
A lack of air-conditioning this summer spurred the growth of mold, mildew
and fungus that soured clothes and linens, causing many inmates to develop
rashes, the lawsuit alleges.
"This is tormenting," it states. Prison officials have "no regard for the
safety, rights and feelings of inmates housed at east and west cell block
locations."
Named as defendants are Chief Correction Officer Mark Kramek, Assistant
Superintendent John Teabout and one other jail employee.
Inmate lawsuits around the Capital Region have accused officials of
illegal strip-searches, overcrowded conditions, inadequate medical care,
exorbitantly expensive telephone charges and other wrongs.
Although prisoners do not have full constitutional rights, they are
protected by the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual
punishment, meaning they are guaranteed some minimum standards of living.
And they retain the right to due process under the law for administrative
appeals. Brodhead is pursuing the current case without a lawyer.
Albany County Sheriff James B. Campbell said he hadn't yet seen Brodhead's
lawsuit but knew he never got any of the grievances cited in the legal
action. He said the state Commission of Correction gave the jail a clean
bill of health during its last inspection in March.
"If any of this was actually true, they would be all over us," Campbell
said.
Jim Lawrence, the state Commission of Correction's director of operations,
said the county jail "is remarkably clean."
"They did have some shower drain flies over the summer, but they
immediately hired an exterminator," he said.
Lawrence said no grievances had been filed by inmates directly to the
commission.
"If they're suppressing a grievance program, that's a very, very serious
problem," he said. "Knowing the sheriff and jail administration, it's not
worth it to them to do that."
The Albany Shaker Road facility is one of the largest in New York, with
1,029 beds, providing custody for local, state and federal prisoners.
Jails statewide must implement pesticide management plans, Lawrence
explained: "So the question is, do they move expeditiously and efficiently
to control things?"
In court papers, the inmates said an exterminator came through their
cellblock on Aug. 8, but when they pointed to the shower conditions, he
said he was only concerned with mosquitoes.
"He then stated that the inmates would have to deal with the flies and
worms or get rid of them by means of their own," the lawsuit states.
Albany attorney Robert Rausch defended the county against a federal
complaint that Brodhead filed in 1998, in which he claimed exposure to
asbestos. The case was settled for what Rausch termed a $2,000 "nuisance
fee," rather than take it to trial.
"I found there was no merit to his claims," Rausch said. "It was truly the
cost of defense, nothing more."
Robert Ganji focuses on prisoners' rights as executive director of the New
York State Correctional Association.
"The rule is, you get locked up as punishment, not for punishment," Ganji
said. "The kind of conditions they're describing are fairly common."
He said there's no way to know from the outside looking in whether
Brodhead's claims are real, "but the fact that 15 guys have signed on, and
they know there is always a chance of retaliation inside, may indicate
that where there's smoke, there's fire."
(source: Albany Times Union)
claiming infestations, mildew
Claiming that correction officers violated their rights, 15 Albany County
jail inmates are suing for better living conditions and $5.5 million in
damages.
The class-action lawsuit that inmate Brian Brodhead filed in U.S. District
Court in Albany this week contends jail officials ignored repeated
requests to exterminate an infestation of mosquitoes that fly through
unscreened windows in the crowded east and west cellblocks as well as
flies and worms that foul the showers.
A lack of air-conditioning this summer spurred the growth of mold, mildew
and fungus that soured clothes and linens, causing many inmates to develop
rashes, the lawsuit alleges.
"This is tormenting," it states. Prison officials have "no regard for the
safety, rights and feelings of inmates housed at east and west cell block
locations."
Named as defendants are Chief Correction Officer Mark Kramek, Assistant
Superintendent John Teabout and one other jail employee.
Inmate lawsuits around the Capital Region have accused officials of
illegal strip-searches, overcrowded conditions, inadequate medical care,
exorbitantly expensive telephone charges and other wrongs.
Although prisoners do not have full constitutional rights, they are
protected by the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual
punishment, meaning they are guaranteed some minimum standards of living.
And they retain the right to due process under the law for administrative
appeals. Brodhead is pursuing the current case without a lawyer.
Albany County Sheriff James B. Campbell said he hadn't yet seen Brodhead's
lawsuit but knew he never got any of the grievances cited in the legal
action. He said the state Commission of Correction gave the jail a clean
bill of health during its last inspection in March.
"If any of this was actually true, they would be all over us," Campbell
said.
Jim Lawrence, the state Commission of Correction's director of operations,
said the county jail "is remarkably clean."
"They did have some shower drain flies over the summer, but they
immediately hired an exterminator," he said.
Lawrence said no grievances had been filed by inmates directly to the
commission.
"If they're suppressing a grievance program, that's a very, very serious
problem," he said. "Knowing the sheriff and jail administration, it's not
worth it to them to do that."
The Albany Shaker Road facility is one of the largest in New York, with
1,029 beds, providing custody for local, state and federal prisoners.
Jails statewide must implement pesticide management plans, Lawrence
explained: "So the question is, do they move expeditiously and efficiently
to control things?"
In court papers, the inmates said an exterminator came through their
cellblock on Aug. 8, but when they pointed to the shower conditions, he
said he was only concerned with mosquitoes.
"He then stated that the inmates would have to deal with the flies and
worms or get rid of them by means of their own," the lawsuit states.
Albany attorney Robert Rausch defended the county against a federal
complaint that Brodhead filed in 1998, in which he claimed exposure to
asbestos. The case was settled for what Rausch termed a $2,000 "nuisance
fee," rather than take it to trial.
"I found there was no merit to his claims," Rausch said. "It was truly the
cost of defense, nothing more."
Robert Ganji focuses on prisoners' rights as executive director of the New
York State Correctional Association.
"The rule is, you get locked up as punishment, not for punishment," Ganji
said. "The kind of conditions they're describing are fairly common."
He said there's no way to know from the outside looking in whether
Brodhead's claims are real, "but the fact that 15 guys have signed on, and
they know there is always a chance of retaliation inside, may indicate
that where there's smoke, there's fire."
(source: Albany Times Union)