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| Female Inmates in Alabama Denied Adequate Medical Care |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/24/2002 |
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A complaint filed in federal court December 18 alleges that Alabama's prison system denies female inmates adequate medical care. 'Serious medical problems are largely ignored until they present an emergency, such as uncontrolled bleeding, seizure, or strokes,' according to the filing. The complaint was added to an earlier suit that already has led to a federal judge's order that conditions in Alabama's state lockups for women are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson gave the state until Dec. 30 to present a plan to correct the problems, which include severe overcrowding at the Tutwiler women's prison near Wetumpka. The new allegations were filed by attorneys for the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit law firm based in Atlanta. Defendants include Naphcare Inc., which provides medical care for state inmates, and MHM Correctional Services Inc., which provides mental health care for the prisoners. Alabama's contract with Naphcare cost the state $29.5 million last year, while the mental health contract with MHM cost the state $1.75 million. The suit contends Alabama ranks 50th among states in spending for inmate medical needs, with Georgia and North Carolina spending twice as much per inmate. The lawsuit said Alabama has just seven infirmary beds for about 1,500 women inmates, with four of the beds in a hallway. There is no medical ward because it was converted into a segregation area for HIV-positive inmates in overcrowded Tutwiler, the suit said. It listed 19 cases in which women inmates in Alabama were denied proper medical care. |
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