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| Prison drug tests questioned |
| By The Birmingham News |
| Published: 03/29/2004 |
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Pinson, Alabama, businessman Tom Bagby is so convinced that one of his work-release employees was wronged by a prison drug test that he's paying the bills to fight it. Ex-prison nurse Betty Mynatt confirmed suspicions of flaws in prisoner drug screens at Birmingham Work Release by testing herself. She tested positive for methamphetamines because of medicines she takes for arthritis and ulcers. Former inmate April Rice asked prison officials for a more precise hair follicle test when a urine screen showed she had used cocaine. They refused and ordered her into drug treatment, though her original crime was not drug-related. Complaints from prisoners, parolees and others about unreliable drug tests have prompted lawyers suing the state Department of Corrections on behalf of inmates at Tutwiler prison to call for further scrutiny of Alabama's prisoner drug tests. "Based on those complaints, we have serious concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the drug testing system, and we urge the department to conduct a thorough investigation of these problems," said Tamara Serwer Caldas, an attorney with the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. The nonprofit law firm represents female prisoners in a federal lawsuit that, so far, has prompted a judge to declare conditions at Tutwiler prison unconstitutionally crowded and unsafe. "At times, ADOC does receive complaints alleging false positives in our drug-testing procedures. If allegations regarding errors are made, ADOC will investigate all incidents brought to our attention," said spokesman Brian Corbett. Birmingham Work Release, which houses about 250 female inmates who work at businesses, is at the heart of the controversy. However, if the allegations prove true, this could have wider repercussions for prisons. That's because Correctional Officer Willie Lee, who tests the Birmingham women, is responsible for drug testing at Donaldson prison, Hamilton Aged and Infirm prison, Hamilton Work Release and sometimes Bibb County prison. He's been doing it since 1989. Lee also screens DOC employees for illegal drugs. A positive test on an employee is sent to a private laboratory for confirmation. Inmates are not given that opportunity. "We don't send inmate samples out," Lee testified in a deposition. Prisoners lose their jobs, are denied parole and lose privileges such as phone calls and visits with their families based on positive drug tests. Prisoners must also pay $25 and the cost of materials in a relapse program. "It's certainly not a level playing field," Corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell said. Jobs are at stake for both prison employees and inmates on work release, he said. "If someone says that that's a problem, I can assure you I will look at it," Campbell said. |
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