Shredding Help at the Metropolitan Detention Center
The conditions in correctional facilities have never been great, but in some facilities like the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, they can be downright inhumane.
The MDC federal jail is infamous for its history of abuse and neglect. Over the years, inmates have been beaten, raped, or held in deplorable conditions. Just last year, a power outage led to a lack of heat while NYC’s temperature dropped to 2 degrees. Officials ignored inmates' medical requests, and when lawsuits were filed, both MDC and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials attempted to mislead politicians and public defenders about the severity of conditions and effects on inmates’ health. (Fun fact: the warden was later promoted.)
In April, an inspector reported that MDC staff don’t just ignore medical requests, They routinely destroy them, thus intentionally destroying records of inmates' medical needs and the facility's responses (or lack thereof). Requests submitted on paper aren’t scanned or recorded, just shredded. This is one of many ways jail and BOP officials have created and exacerbated dangerous conditions while dodging accountability, and these conditions are especially hazardous during the spread of Covid-19. Inmates with symptoms are either ignored or undertreated, and those who test positive aren’t properly quarantined, resulting in additional cases among inmates, staff, and possibly visitors.
The MDC is far from alone. facilities across the country are negligent and/or ill-equipped, and both officials and politicians have been slow to take action. Inmates, staff, and visitors are all at increased risk of infection. Across the country there’ve been over 48,000 cases and 585 deaths amongst inmates and over 10,000 cases and 42 deaths amongst staff. New cases are slowing to a trickle in some states but rising in others. The inadequate responses to Covid-19 in jails and prisons have underscored the widespread systemic issues of substandard conditions and abusive treatment in the criminal justice system.
Sources: The Intercept, New York Times, The Marshall Project
The MDC federal jail is infamous for its history of abuse and neglect. Over the years, inmates have been beaten, raped, or held in deplorable conditions. Just last year, a power outage led to a lack of heat while NYC’s temperature dropped to 2 degrees. Officials ignored inmates' medical requests, and when lawsuits were filed, both MDC and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials attempted to mislead politicians and public defenders about the severity of conditions and effects on inmates’ health. (Fun fact: the warden was later promoted.)
In April, an inspector reported that MDC staff don’t just ignore medical requests, They routinely destroy them, thus intentionally destroying records of inmates' medical needs and the facility's responses (or lack thereof). Requests submitted on paper aren’t scanned or recorded, just shredded. This is one of many ways jail and BOP officials have created and exacerbated dangerous conditions while dodging accountability, and these conditions are especially hazardous during the spread of Covid-19. Inmates with symptoms are either ignored or undertreated, and those who test positive aren’t properly quarantined, resulting in additional cases among inmates, staff, and possibly visitors.
The MDC is far from alone. facilities across the country are negligent and/or ill-equipped, and both officials and politicians have been slow to take action. Inmates, staff, and visitors are all at increased risk of infection. Across the country there’ve been over 48,000 cases and 585 deaths amongst inmates and over 10,000 cases and 42 deaths amongst staff. New cases are slowing to a trickle in some states but rising in others. The inadequate responses to Covid-19 in jails and prisons have underscored the widespread systemic issues of substandard conditions and abusive treatment in the criminal justice system.
Sources: The Intercept, New York Times, The Marshall Project