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| Death Row inmates' families protest conditions at prison |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 04/05/2004 |
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Families of Death Row inmates joined capital punishment opponents last Thursday in a demonstration against what they say are appalling conditions at the maximum-security prison near Westville, Ind. "There are bugs in the cells and feces in the shower," said Mary Overstreet, 54, Franklin, whose son, Michael, is on Death Row. "It's just devastating to see," she said, referring to what she's been told. About 30 people picketed the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis, which houses Department of Correction offices. The protest is the latest action against the Maximum Control Facility, where some inmates remain on a hunger strike that began March 17. Their relatives chanted slogans, held signs and made speeches denouncing the prison agency. Protest organizer Holly Deckard said relatives were demanding that the agency move Death Row inmates from the prison, where she said they are subjected to filthy cells and denied contact visits with relatives. "They are tearing families apart," she said. "A lot of the people here are mothers. (The Department of Correction) won't respond to us." DOC spokeswoman Pam Pattison suggested the complaints were overblown. Besides cable television, inmates will soon be allowed recreation time with other prisoners, she said in a prepared statement. There are no imminent plans to transfer them to another facility, but the agency "continues to investigate other options" for the inmates, Pattison said. The Maximum Control Facility has remained controversial since it opened in 1991 to house the state's most predatory and disruptive inmates. The 203 inmates are kept in solitary confinement. The most recent complaints started last year after 38 Death Row inmates were transferred to Westville from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, which is undergoing a $4.5 million renovation. They allege the conditions in Westville are even harsher and more restrictive than at the State Prison. While protesters contend that keeping Death Row inmates at the Maximum Control Facility is illegal, corrections officials maintain they are within their rights to do so. |
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