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| Ohio Inmates Sue Over Jail's Care Response |
| By Dayton Daily News |
| Published: 12/20/2002 |
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Attorneys for inmates at the Montgomery County Jail have requested a court order to stop what they say is overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, inattention to the inmates' medical needs and other abuses. They claim that about 70 inmates have been housed in a gym and 10 to 12 more housed in a multipurpose room, each given only a sheet and blanket with no beds or pillows. Their amended lawsuit was filed December 13 and seeks certification as a class action. The suit claims: One inmate who fell from his wheelchair waited days to be seen by the medical staff. One inmate was denied blood pressure medication for eight days and subsequently suffered a heart attack. One inmate was denied his mental health medication for more than seven days. Attorneys Beth Goldstein Lewis, Mark A. Tuss and Vincent P. Popp are asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon L. Ovington for a temporary order to end overcrowding and for the inmates to be provided proper food, recreation, bedding and medical attention. Montgomery County Sheriff Dave Vore said claims in the lawsuit 'are all allegations that were disproved in meetings that they (attorneys who filed the lawsuit) set up where we tried to resolve these issues without this type of action.' Vore said his administration has strived to keep the number of inmates within the jail's 731 inmate capacity. But he conceded, 'at times, inmates have been housed in the gym' where they've been given portable beds. 'We try to treat them as humanely as possible,' Vore said. He said the county recently contracted with Butler County to house up to 100 inmates there and that construction to add 241 beds at the Montgomery County Jail is scheduled to begin in January and be completed in May 2004. 'Are we going to have some issues with inmate population until then?' Vore asked? 'Yes.' But he said the jail was recently accredited by the American Corrections Association and the National Commission for Health Standards and it also meets the minimum jail standards of the Bureau of Adult Detention. The lawsuit, however, claims that overcrowding 'creates unconstitutional conditions of confinement where there is a lack, among other things, of food, toilet facilities, linens, uniforms and medication, creating an increased hostile environment among the inmates as well as increased medical needs.' |
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