TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on Tuesday granted a motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana against Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse seeking a status report from the Vigo County Jail concerning its recent COVID-19 outbreak and its medical protocols.
The motion was filed Monday on behalf of Jauston Huerta, an inmate at the facility.
Judge Magnus-Stinson’s decision read in part, “It is therefore ordered that the defendants shall file a status report no later than December 22, 2020, in which report they must address:
- the number of prisoners who have been infected with the disease, including
- where infected prisoners are housed in the Jail;
- what type of medical attention have those prisoners received and what will be
- received in the future if changes are being made in treatment protocols;
- the specific steps being taken to protect prisoners who are not infected, including
- where noninfected prisoners are being housed in the Jail;
- the results of the Board of Health visit to the Jail, its recommendations, and the
- steps being taken to implement the recommendations;
- any and all COVID-19 protocols currently in place at the Jail;
- whether or not any prisoners have been transported to hospitals for emergency
- care or special treatment related to the coronavirus or its symptoms;
- all other pertinent issues relating to the disease and the Jail’s population.
- It is further ordered that the above information shall be incorporated into all future status reports.”
On Friday, Dec. 4, an inmate named Frederick Whitlock, 56, collapsed in a cell block in the Vigo County Jail and died at a local hospital. The ACLU’s motion noted that the jail is overcrowded, with 296 prisoners but only 267 permanent beds.
Jane Henegar, executive director at the ACLU of Indiana, issued a statement:
“For the better part of this year, public health officials have sounded alarms that prisons, jails, and detention centers would be hotspots for the spread of COVID-19 and the ACLU of Indiana has called on Indiana officials to reduce the number of people incarcerated in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Successful efforts, across the country, to reduce the number of people incarcerated have resulted from concerted actions by elected officials – prosecutors, judges, legislators, mayors, and correctional authorities – to change laws and to change how new and existing laws are applied. Our elected officials have the power to reduce jail and prison populations. They have the power to save lives.”
In reaction to the judge’s order, Sheriff Plasse says this order was anticipated and monthly reports is a task that his office already performs. He also says he will continue to be transparent during this process.
“I think she will see, once we answer all those questions she has, that we’ve done everything humanly possible to keep COVID out of the jail,” Plasse said.
Plasse says his office has been in regular contact with the state health department to help mitigate the issue, but says more or different action will be taken if the judge sees fit.
“If the judge says no you’re not doing this right or you’re doing that wrong, and she tells us this is what you need to do then obviously we’ll do that,” he said.
With a new jail being built, the sheriff also says he hopes future issues regarding overcrowding or outbreaks can be avoided.
“We’ve been battling this for decades here. Finally it’s done right, it’s just waiting to be in there and have the inmates in conditions that they should be in,” Plasse said.
The ACLU, along with other advocacy groups, on Monday sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb, offering recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine distribution to particularly vulnerable Hoosiers, including individuals who are incarcerated.
The letter argued that Indiana’s vaccine-distribution plan cannot be considered fair or equitable if it does not take into account, and attempt to redress, the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on at-risk communities in jails and prisons.
“In Indiana alone, incarcerated individuals have a COVID-19 infection rate that is 83% higher than the state’s infection rate as a whole,” Henegar said. “Individuals living in carceral settings have higher rates of disability and chronic health issues, and often lack adequate nutrition, health care, access to fresh air, and proper hygiene measures. Making vaccines available to incarcerated people is an important step towards containing COVID-19 inside and outside of these facilities and providing constitutionally mandated medical care.”
