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| Ala. Inmate Sues Over Health Care, Dies Two Days Later |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/19/2003 |
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An inmate died at St. Clair Correctional Facility just two days after he filed suit claiming prisoners are denied adequate health care at the lockup, his lawyer said Friday. Jerry Baker, 63, had severe breathing problems that went untreated, said his attorney, Rhonda Brownstein. She was unsure what killed Baker. 'I'm assuming he died in relation to his illness,' she said. Baker was the lead plaintiff among seven inmates in a class-action federal lawsuit filed May 13 alleging prisoners at St. Clair are routinely denied needed treatment and medicine. Baker was serving time for murder. Brownstein said she last saw him on May 6, when Baker appeared to be 'wasting away.' Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said an in-house report did not include a cause of death, and no autopsy was planned. Baker was found dead in bed about 6 a.m. Thursday by another inmate who alerted officers, Corbett said. Nurses from NaphCare Inc., a company that provides medical care in state prisons, tried to revive Baker. 'It just didn't work,' said Corbett. The lawsuit alleged Baker had not received needed breathing medication at the prison, where he was held for 14 years, and lost 40 pounds last year without being treated. Baker had difficulty eating because he had only 12 teeth, the suit said, and an infirmary worker tried to fix a broken denture with glue rather than providing him a new one. Baker also wasn't given vitamins or nutritional supplements, the suit said. Defendants included Commissioner Donal Campbell; warden Ralph Hooks; and NaphCare, a Birmingham-based company with a $30 million contract to provide health care for state prisoners. The prison system earlier this month said it was canceling NaphCare's contract, but denied the decision was linked to the quality of inmate care. At three previous lawsuits were filed against the state and Naphcare over inmate health care. A spokeswoman with NaphCare did not return a telephone call seeking comment. Corbett said Baker was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder in Walker County in 1995. He had two previous robbery convictions in Jefferson County. A report published earlier this week in the Mobile Register said the death rate in Alabama prisons far outpaces that of most states. |
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