June 02--The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a motion to reopen a lawsuit calling for major reforms to Baltimore's city jail, citing reports from defendants who allege they struggled to receive HIV medication and were stuffed into crowded, vermin-ridden cells.
The allegedly squalid conditions at the city jail, which have been documented in a series of lawsuits and court orders, gained national attention in April after hundreds of protesters were detained after demonstrations and riots over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died after being severely injured in police custody.
In the motion filed Tuesday, the ACLU argued that the jail has repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of a settlement reached in 2009. Inmates suffering from long-term health problems, including diabetes and HIV, can go days without receiving necessary medication, while others complained of spending days locked in cells without working toilets or sinks.
Many of the facilities shower drains are full of "drain flies, black mold and filth," the lawsuit contends.
"Despite a half-century of litigation, and repeated promises by city and state officials, [Baltimore City Detention Center] remains a dank and dangerous place, where detainees are confined in dirty cells infested with vermin," the lawsuit contends.
Terms of a consent decree calling for jail reform were first reached in 1993, according to the ACLU, which has legal standing to ask the court to reopen the suit if it can prove the jail failed to comply with terms of the agreement.
Maryland's top corrections official, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen T. Moyer, said Tuesday that his administration has only been in place for four months, and was attempting to review conditions at the city jail when the ACLU filed its motion.
"I have high expectations of my staff to change the way we do business. I respectfully asked for time to address these concerns and was told no by attorneys for the plaintiffs," he said in a statement. "We are committed to providing the best service to our clients and will remain committed to ensuring that accepted standards are met."
The ACLU cited medical records and interviews with dozens of inmates who were denied access to proper medical treatment. One patient did not receive needed HIV medication inside the jail until days before his death, the lawsuit said.
Inmates have also found themselves trapped in sweltering conditions inside the jail, which can become overwhelmingly humid in the summer months. At one point last summer, nearly a quarter of the facility's fans were in need of repair, according to the suit.
In April, after Baltimore police arrested hundreds in the wake of citywide rioting, the city public defender's office argued that people were held in incredibly cramped conditions for days.
On Tuesday, Deputy Public Defender Natalie Finegar told the Los Angeles Times that conditions at the jail have long been a concern for her office.
The jail also struggles to provide adequate laundry services, according to the lawsuit and Finegar, who said many detainees have taken to washing their personal items in toilets, which contributes to the spread of sicknesses within the facility.
Finegar, who once worked in a public defender's satellite office within the jail, said she saw cases of MRSA and scarlet fever spreading through the facility on more than one occasion.
"At various points, I've had to contact my staff and let them know they've been exposed to these things," Finegar said. "It's kind of running rampant at a facility where there aren't a lot of opportunities to stay clean."
In the suit, the ACLU argued that many of those detained at the city lockup are simply awaiting trial. But while they haven't been convicted, "every minute spent in the jail is punishment; too often such confinement becomes life-threatening punishment," the suit said.
