Lawsuit: ‘Conditions in the jail have worsened’
On behalf of hundreds of “medically vulnerable” men awaiting trial at the Shelby County jail in Downtown Memphis, a consortium of civil rights attorneys filed an amended complaint in federal court Tuesday.
Building on a class-action law suit that initially requested the release of around 300 detainees who are over 65 and/or have certain chronic conditions, the complaint alleges Shelby County has not remedied jail conditions rife with the risk of infection — as ordered by Federal Court Judge Sheryl Lipman in early August.
“Defendants have utterly failed to remediate the unconstitutional conditions at the jail,” the amended complaint, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other lawyers, states. “If anything, conditions in the Jail have worsened.”
Practices that continue to perpetuate COVID-19 exposure risk, according to the complaint, include “wholly ineffective” quarantine practices; non-testing of new arrestees; and the failure to “seriously pursue” social distancing in sleeping quarters and during meals, pill calls, and while detainees use the phone.
Capt. Anthony Buckner, spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, said he could not comment Tuesday, because the litigation is pending, regarding whether practices have been implemented at the jail to mitigate COVID-19 exposure risk since Lipman's ruling.
In early August, Buckner said, “Our focus from Day 1 has been trying to protect our staff and detainees and we'll just continue listening to our public health officials, locally, state and federal. And we'll make adjustments as we are able to do so as time goes on.”
Joseph J. Bial, lead counsel for the law firm Paul, Weiss, said despite that sentiment, “The sheriff has not adequately fixed these problems. This complaint seeks to make him do so.”
Bial's New York-based law firm joined the American Civil Liberties Union; Memphis advocacy group Just City; and local attorneys Steve Mulroy and Brice Moffatt Timmons in filing the suit in May.
Their first complaint requested Lipman order the release of detainees deemed medically vulnerable to COVID-19 from the Shelby County men's jail Downtown, commonly known by its address, 201 Poplar.
Will the county set affordable bond, offer ankle monitoring for those at risk?
Quarantine and social distancing issues could quickly be remedied by the county, Lipman wrote in an Aug. 7 ruling that denied the release of medically vulnerable detainees — en masse.
On a case-by-case basis, Lipman suggested two other avenues — affordable bond and alternatives such as ankle monitoring — that could be used to avoid the unnecessary detention of medically vulnerable people in the jail during the pandemic.
Progressive multiple sclerosis, treated with an immunosuppresant; heart disease; diabetes; hypertension; asthma; chronic liver disease; and irregular heartbeat are among chronic conditions attributed to six plaintiffs, individually named in the second complaint, who are locked up while awaiting trial.
Another man, Ronald Rhyne, told Commercial Appeal columunist Tonyaa Weathersbee about his difficulties at the jail, as a detainee with a heart condition and high blood pressure.
“One time, when they took us to court, we were like 30-, 40-deep in the tank,” said Rhyne.“they’re bringing people in from the outside that they aren’t quarantining ... some are coming right off the streets ... I had to wear the same paper mask for two months,” he said.
Rhyne’s aunt Linda Kee said her attempt to provide him a mask was denied.
“He made some mistakes, but that doesn’t mean he should be condemned to death,” she said.
There remains no process in place for medical status to inform bond or alternatives to detention, the amended complaint states.
It was filed alongside another document, seeking to expand the “medically vulnerable” definition, in accordance with a July update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regarding conditions correlated to increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness.
Candice Grose, Shelby County public information officer, did not reply to two requests for comment regarding any efforts by the Pre-trial Services Division to coordinate alternatives to detention, based on COVID-19 medical vulnerability, for anyone held at the jail at 201 Poplar.
Regarding bond determinations, Judge Lee Coffee, administrative judge for Shelby County Criminal Court, was not available Tuesday for comment, a court staffer said.
Lipman, the federal judge, deemed the county’s lack of inclusion of medical conditions in bond determinations, a “persistent failure” and issue of particular concern.
“Reasons offered for continued detention focus on repeat offenses in the past, not safety or flight risks in the present,” Lipman wrote.
Taking medical status into account is simply the right thing to do, said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City.
“No one should be at risk of contracting a deadly virus simply because they don’t have money,” he said.
Coronavirus cases at 201 Poplar
Nearly 240 detainees have contracted coronavirus case at the jail, according to the most recent figures released by the Shelby County Sheriff ’s Office on Sept. 11. As of that date, SCSO and Tennessee Department of Correction data also show:
• Eight detainees are currently isolated
• Of the 166 total sheriff ’s employees, across three divisions, who have tested positive, a fatality is among the 118 cases in the division of employees who work at the jail
• The current jail population is 1,977 people
• That figure includes an estimated 300 medically vulnerable people, per an independent inspector’s report filed June 30
• The vast majority of people in the jail — 82% — had yet to be convicted of their charges, according to a July 31 Tennessee Dept. of Correction report
Remedies sought in the amended complaint include: h Ongoing inspections of the jail h Reduction of the jail population, through setting bond and/or offering alternatives to detention based on medical status
• Creation of system that requires consideration of release for each medically vulnerable detainee based on current flight risk rather than past offenses
• Implementation of a new testing strategy in which all detainees are tested upon intake and periodically from there on h Availability of cleaning supplies h Free soap and masks distributed to detainees weekly
• Reconfiguration of all spaces to allow for adequate social distancing