Inmates At The Allegheny County Jail Present Petition To Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Jail Oversight Board Outlining Deplorable Prison Conditions

Over sixty inmates at the Allegheny County Jail submitted a petition to the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Jail Oversight Board on April 25, 2005. The petition outlined deplorable unsanitary conditions at the Jail. "All we received in response has been forced one-minute showers in a filthy and flooded wash area along with threats of retaliation," ACJ Inmate Frederick H. Banks told maydakupdate.com.

The inmates lodged the petition in late April, 2005, and hoped for a response in May, 2005. However, no response came. "We were informed that further complaints would result in worse conditions," Banks said.

Two women died at the Allegheny County Jail on March 21, 2005, from Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus ("MRSA") from the unsanitary conditions at the facility.

The petition reads:

To the Warden and the
Allegheny County Oversight Board

PETITION

Recently, the inmates learned of the deaths of two women at the Allegheny County Jail as a result of MRSA. Newspaper accounts show the defendants’ making jokes about inmates stealing underwear, and County Health Officials challenging the veracity of inmate complaints regarding the prison conditions.

On April 18, 2005, jail officials attempted to push the blame onto inmates by imposing “mandatory” showering on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the morning. This “solution” is absurd since most inmates shower every day and the bulk showering increased the hygiene problem since the water accumulates outside the area because of inadequate drainage and peeling paint.

Since the administration failed to implement logical improvements to sanitation, we are formally advising the Board of the specific problems:

1. Inmates are not being provided any information about MRSA or what to look for;

2. Inmates are not being given tests for MRSA despite having suspicious lesions. Medical personnel “slough off” the lesions as “probably” being “spider bites,” a fungus, pimples, ringworm, or other ambiguous retorts.

3. Nurses who are not licensed to practice medicine are tasked with functions that should be assigned to a physician or physician’s assistant.

4. The inmate workers are not given sufficient cleaning supplies.

5. Inmates have extremely limited access to cleaning supplies.

6. A single mop is present for 95 people. It is passed from room to room. It smells like mold and leaves a stench in the air. The same water is used for each room because of limitations on chemicals.

7. Inmates are not provided clean rags or paper towels for cleaning.

8. A single toilet brush serves 95 people.

9. The washing machine leaks (probably because staff use a 20 pound chain to lock the door).

10. The ventilation system is not being maintained. In some rooms, no air circulates. In others, so much air comes out that it must be covered.

11. Many of the showers do not work at all, and no plans are in place to repair them.

12. Malfunctioning shower heads spray water outside the showers and it lays on the floor because of inadequate drainage and a non-flat rigid floor.

13. The roofs of the upper shower area, which cannot be cleaned because of a rusty metal guard, are caked with mold, dirt, and bacteria. Both the upper and lower shower roofs are water damaged. Some of the lights shorted out or burnt out as a result.

14. Because the walls are made from painted block, instead of a smooth tile, the cleaners cannot maintain them. Dirt and crud build up in the cracks and beneath the peeling paint. They cannot be cleaned. The showers must be remodeled with tile.

15. "Split feeds," which occur because of overcrowding, result in the food sitting out for hours. Additional chairs should be available for a single meal session.

16. Napkins should be given with meals, as should clean eating utensils.

17. Many tables do not have tops (they peeled off). These tables cannot be cleaned since rigid wood is showing. The broken tables must be repaired.

18. Some toilets shut off for one hour if flushed more than once. As a result, feces and urine lays in the bowl.

19. The lockers are rusting out making cleaning difficult.

20. Inmates cannot buy the products they need to cut their nails or floss their teeth.

21. Inmates are not issued underclothes by the jail upon arrival.

22. Inmates receive a single towel that stays wet all the time (because it is never given a chance to dry). It can be washed only if the inmate has a laundry bag.

23. Inmates must pay $8.00 for a laundry bag. Otherwise, they cannot wash their undergarments (which they must buy as well).

24. The unit laundry machine, which just recently began working again, is packed full of laundry bags, yet only a small amount of soap is used. Similarly, the dryer is overfilled and the clothes are returned wet.

25. Only one roll of (500 pieces) toilet paper is issued to each inmate per week. The paper must be used for everything including runny noses, spills, cleaning the single spoon and cup, and use of the toilet. Even when inmates are ill, they cannot secure additional paper.

26. Inmates are being refused access to their medical records, but see 28 Pa.Code 563.11, and cannot learn about their conditions. Furthermore, when given medication, inmates are disallowed access to the informational brochure contained therein.

27. Inmates are provided a dirty green sponge to sleep on. The inmates with plastic covered mattresses noticed cracking from the age of the mattress. Prison officials are not replacing worn mattresses.

28. Inmates are given a single sheet and a single blanket. Because of this, most inmates sleep in their uniform to keep warm. Common sense dictates that two sheets be provided since one must wrap the mattress.

29. Inmates are given pillows and they must sleep with their face directly on the dirty green sponge.

30. A sign remains on the wall claiming that inmates are charged $2.00 for sick call and $3.00 to see a doctor. If this is not the case, inmates need to be informed.

31. When new inmates arrive, they are placed for several weeks on a classification unit (4A or 4B). These inmates cannot buy hygiene items or wash their clothes. They cannot buy shampoo, deodorant, shower shoes, toothpaste, etc. After they are moved to a normal unit, they must wait until commissary day to buy hygiene.

/s/

The petition was signed by Milton Morgan, Frederick Banks, Keith Maydak, Robert Smith, and 59 other inmates. (Maydak was transferred from the Jail on April 22, 2005, because of his complaints).

Contact: Keith Maydak
maydak@miserablemail.com