Lockdown and Mismanagement of COVID-19 at Indiana Women’s Prison

What follows is a series of updates from a correspondent at Indiana Womens Prison over the last few weeks about the worsening COVID-19 outbreak there.

04/30/2020 08:17 PM CDT

Hey. I hope you are well. I wanted to catch you up on some frustrations. I feel like there are  board of health code violations that deserve the filing of a complaint. However, the state board of health refuses to investigate complaints inside prisons, as evident in the paperwork and correspondence I have had with them over the years.

Two women who tested positive for covid 16 days ago, with symptoms, were moved back to open population today. I thought the recommendations were 14 to 21 days outside of symptoms before ending quarantine? Furthermore, counselors and c/o’s are being moved around from positive units to non-positive units. Contact tracing is not happening, basically the clear implication is that everyone has been exposed.

The obvious facts, which are extremely hard to swallow since I have just had open heart surgery in 2017, is that this is survival of the fittest. Basically, the state, board of health, and DOC are saying it is acceptable for 1 to 1.5% of the population here to die (if comparable to societal death; probably more in congregate settings). Instead of releasing vulnerable persons, my/our death or ability to overcome the virus will be my only option in even living.

Exposure to the virus is forced upon me, as I am forced to reside without social distancing with positive coronavirus c/o’s and incarcerated persons. I am forced to work because they have run out of c/o’s and inmates to work for them. Now I am being forced to be a frontline worker for the DOC, and maybe I will earn .15c an hour as I face unconsented to exposure.

This is ridiculous and sad! And I hope ppl who lose loved ones here, c/o’s or residents, hold these people accountable. They are moving c/o’s to covid positive units to non covid positive units and c/o’s are wearing the same clothes in these areas as others, even if it is a plastic gown. Two c/o’s sick at work today. 3 more tested positive or assumed positive. No contact tracing or notice of being exposed.

05/02/2020 06:54 AM CDT

On PBS Indiana Week In Review, I saw protestors at Westville because of conditions. The men there are suffering without medical attention, with masks and sanitizer being taken away. Gratefully, people care enough about lives on the inside to protest for 2 hours. One newscaster said 150 of the 321 IDOC cases of covid are in Westville.

It is so obvious to me that the numbers are all lies. I know factually they are not testing ppl here, only a few. Remember at the onset of this, I wrote to complain that my neighbor was not tested and the medical health care director informed me then, they will test one in a group and assume everyone else has it. So, testing is not being done for all who are exposed, not for all who are symptomatic, never is someone tested more than once, and on the recovery from covid, neither test nor time is being attended to guaranteeing the person is no longer contagious.

Mike O’Brian, a reporter on the PBS show stated that if elderly are in prison, they are here for a reason and therefore shouldn’t be released. He is correct in that Indiana placed them here, in most cases, for punishment! Not to protect society from 70 year old women, sentenced to prison 5 years ago for theft or 30 years ago for murder. These women, as most ppl, were sent here under draconian sentencing laws FOR PUNISHMENT. That is their purpose for being here. So, the need for punishment and retribution satisfies his reasoning behind keeping Indiana’s prisons as hot spots for covid with incarcerated populations’ lives excessively threatened inside. Indiana believes that punishment outweighs the changing factors of time, rehabilitation, responsibility, guilt, age, health, etc? Enough to neglectfully kill those inside?

And how many ppl have family and places to go? At least 1/2, if not more! The reasons for denying this option for early release of vulnerable populations cannot be valid based upon excuse. No, ppl exist that do have options. Don’t kill them in prison!

05/04/2020 02:31 PM CDT

I pray that what I believe is supposed to be happening per the CDC and state board of health recommendations is incorrect, because, if I am correct on what I think I know, the medical department is trying to intentionally harm and kill the incarcerated.

Thursday, inmate A came back from the hospital STILL testing positive for coronavirus. The unit she tested positive from was placed on “quarantine” around 4-10. At that time, or within the time of the quarantine, 3 more ppl tested positive from the space she lived in with 9 other women. She is moving back to the room today! So is inmate B, who tested positive as well. Same room. Both women positive, with the A woman positive last Thursday! Is this acceptable for congregate settings?

They are not giving anyone a second test nor keeping them separate from others, claiming they are 14 days out of their symptoms. We have only been under lock down since 4-1. The numerous ppl that have returned to their units still positive and contagious cannot be satisfying quarantine recommendations!

Doctor Mershon, Wexford’s doctor, was outside walking to a covid positive unit, apparently to attend to potentially positive or positive patients on the unit. By leaving covid positive ppl on the unit he is not quarantining persons with known exposure from ppl without! So, the 70 ppl on a unit are all going to get covid, if those specifically exposed are not removed for quarantine.

05/05/2020 05:24 PM CDT

Now, cell doors are being locked to punish inmates, as is the denial of exercise, phone calls, socializing, and relaxing. Instead of these denials being justified as “for our safety” it is now evident that c/o’s are being permitted to use these aspects of authority purely for control and punishment. No visits for over a month, no out of cell activity permitted, but I am forced to work. It is not for my protection that I am denied yoga or exercise outside of my cell, it is purely to punish me, an authority c/o Ms. Mayo enjoys. Mental health staff stated to use healthy coping mechanisms during this time of lock down, yet although non-workers are permitted in the dayroom for 2 hours (35ppl per side), I am not permitted time because I work during the scheduled, approved time. Being mindful that only 4 hours a day is allotted for this dayroom time, I still cannot have time in the open space to exercise as a healthy coping mechanism. Doors to cells are being locked, yet when c/o Goodman wanted to avoid standing and unlocking each door she unlocked every door at once, allowing 80 ppl in the hallways to line up for the 3 available toilets before relocking us in the cells for 2 to 4 hours. Clearly, social distancing is not the reason we are being locked inside non self-contained rooms with cellmates, rather, control and punishment are the reasons.

Another move today of an extremely sick woman to a “quarantined” unit who it is claimed does not have covid. She has a severe respiratory sickness. All c/o’s and staff being moved around unit to unit being potentially exposed. An elderly c/o having worked a quaran
tined unit yesterday, another one today, and I am forced to be around them as I work or they rotate to my unit. Staff does not wear face masks consistently, yet we cannot brush our teeth or wash our face without being told we will get written up for not wearing them. A friend of mine, can’t walk anymore after being covid infected.

05/06/2020 01:31 PM CDT

Grievances were filed because Wednesday May 4, we were locked back inside our cells after two weeks of being unlocked after the protests. The grievance specialist, Ms. Foley responded that “full or partial lock down shall be implemented at the Warden’s discretion.” And stated being locked in cells is not illegal. She stated that just because unit 5 (this unit) was the only unit locked in cells (not unit 3 or 6 who are quarantined, not 2, 4, or 7) “the operations of another unit does not affect you”. Yet, the excuse is it is a facility lock down. Furthermore, Ms. Foley stated: “Moving forward, IWP will continue to operate as a maximum security prison.” This final comment combined with the Deputy Warden’s comments today, seems to imply they are desiring to keep us in secured cells without call buttons, toilets, or fire safety mechanisms moving forward, even without the false pretense of a “lockdown”. Real lockdowns don’t have inmates working due to safety and security reasons yet we are being made to work.

We have not been locked inside cells since arriving here in 2009, except a handful of times after this warden arrived. We have no ventilation, no air, no cooling inside brick cells. We currently have no spiritual, educational, or recreational movement.

The grievance process is not even addressing our concerns. Keep in mind all of the above responses were not formally logged, as the grievances are not given log in numbers!

05/07/2020 02:23 PM CDT

The manifestations of placing covid positive ppl back in open population is happening. Oddly, one woman who tested positive worked closely with 5 other ppl and 1 staff person. None of those ppl were tested, quarantined, and staff not even notified. Now, the units that covid positive ppl were moved back to before they were free of symptoms or having had 2 negative tests, are registering covid positive ppl. It is sad. And I am being made to work as well as numerous others. It is scary. It is sad.

Do people in here matter?

05/10/2020 09:04 AM CDT

They threatened me three times last night to work for free as a suicide inmate watcher or receive a conduct report. They are forcing this issue because the unit that provides the free labor is under quarantine, 3 ppl having tested positive for certain. My name must be being generated because I am a graduate of the unit.

I deny working as a suicide watcher and always have, especially since I witnessed them intentionally allow a 19 year old to kill herself in seg about 4 years ago. Nonetheless, the courts do not respect that my out date is contingent upon my conduct, and the DOC is selfish and angry, especially at certain intervals…conduct reports are their threat, 10pm, 12, midnight, and again at 4 am.

The unit they moved people back to without clearing them 14 days has new infections. Yet, monday we will be eating as groups of 60 or more in the chow hall. We have only been told this by a c/o today who started the convo, “oh yea…” And told a few of us. She said we are still going to be locked in.