PILP Sends Letter to Centre County Commissioners addressing their failure to implement necessary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the jail.

On April 6, 2020, the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project wrote the attached letter in response to disturbing reports out of Centre County Correctional Facility. These reports detailed the prison’s failure to isolate incarcerated people who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, and not providing face masks for jail staff or for the prisoners in the facility.

Two specific examples of reports our office received include: one incarcerated person with a severe cough and chest pains, and another with a temperature of 100.4 degrees. Neither of these people were placed in isolation or provided with a face mask.

The letter requests a response from the Centre County Commissioners by Friday, April 10, 2020. PILP asked for an explanation of the steps they intend to take to address the issues we raised in the letter and any other measures they are taking to address the COVID-19 situation in the jail. If we do not receive a response, we will consider taking further action. PILP will continue report about the status of the situation.

Read the full letter here.

Need for Immediate Action to Protect Philadelphia's Youth in Confinement From COVID-19

Over 140 youth are held in Philadelphia’s juvenile detention center and adult jails as COVID19 spreads rapidly.

On April 2, 2020, the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project joined 30+ organizations and individuals dedicated to the health and safety of Philadelphia’s youth in signing a letter imploring Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney, Philadelphia City Council, and the Philadelphia Courts to take immediate action to protect incarcerated youth from COVID-19. The letter demands prompt action to keep all young people and families safe during this unprecedented public health crisis.

Read the full letter here

COVID-19 Testing Protocols in Prisons: PILP Letter to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) sent a letter to Timothy Holmes, Acting Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) stating our serious concerns regarding the DOC’s protocols for testing incarcerated people for COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Dear Mr. Holmes:

I am writing on behalf of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project to express grave concern regarding the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ protocols for testing incarcerated people for COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Our concern stems from the DOC’s refusal to test Walter Ogrod, who is currently incarcerated at SCI Phoenix, for COVID-19. We recently learned through media reports that Mr. Ogrod may have had a fever of up to106 degrees, coughing, and difficulty breathing. We are not only concerned about Mr. Ogrod’s medical condition and his possible infection with COVID-19, but also the possible impact on other incarcerated individuals, prison staff, and the broader community. We are alarmed that if the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) is refusing to test Mr. Ogrod, the DOC might not test anyone, no matter how severe their symptoms, to avoid reporting infection in DOC facilities.

Read the full letter here.

Breaking: COVID-19 IN PRISONS. PILP and LPP Send Letter Expressing Grave Concerns Re: Possible Transfer of Incarcerated People from NY to PA Federal Facilities.

The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) and the Lewisburg Prison Project (LPP) sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) expressing our grave concerns regarding the possible transfer of incarcerated people in New York federal facilities to Pennsylvania federal facilities in light of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A copy of the letter is available at this link.

PRESS RELEASE: Advocates Urge Jails and Prisons to Implement Science-Based and Transparent Practices in Response to Coronavirus

Three prison reform groups sent letters today to every county jail, federal prison and immigration detention center in Pennsylvania as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections urging evidence-based responses to the coronavirus pandemic, with an expectation that the jails and prisons will be transparent in how they are responding. Calling people who are incarcerated “highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, and FAMM outlined ten areas of concern in the letter, including proper education for prisoners and staff, the availability of hygiene products, and precautions for prisoners who are at increased vulnerability.

The letter also notes that the organizations intend to follow up with Right To Know requests to facilitate public knowledge of the institutions’ plans.

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An inmate at the Lebanon County jail claims the punishment for not cutting his hair violates his First Amendment rights

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February 27, 2020 | Fox 43 | Harri Leigh

WATCH TV NEWS REPORT HERE

LEBANON, Pa. —

Eric McGill is alone in a cell at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility. He’s been in solitary confinement for more than a year because he won’t cut his dreadlocks. On Feb. 20 McGill filed a civil action against Lebanon County and three administrators of the county jail, claiming they are violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

McGill, 27, who was arrested in January 2019 for his alleged role in a shooting that injured four people, wears dreadlocks as part of his Rastafarian religion.

Rastafarians do not cut their hair, following the “Nazarite vow” described in the Old Testament.

”He believes that his hair has spiritual significance. He believes that it connects him with his ancestors, he believes that it gives strength and purity that he needs for the afterlife,” said Matthew Feldman, a lawyer with the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project representing McGill.

The Lebanon County Correctional Facility allows long hair in ponytails, but not dreads. When McGill would not cut his off, he was placed in administrative segregation, also known as solitary confinement. McGill’s lawyers said this punishment is denying his First Amendment right to freedom of religion and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law.

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Federal commission highlights harms and civil rights violations for women in prison

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February 26, 2020 | Philadelphia Inquirer | Samantha Melamed

When Naomi Blount was sentenced to the State Correctional Institution Muncy in 1982, there were maybe 300 or 400 women there, and she had a cell to herself.

“Then as the years passed by and the population stated growing, that’s when they started doubling us up — and then quadrupling us up," said Blount, a former lifer who received commutation after 37 years and now works for the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons.

What she witnessed firsthand was a 600% increase in the female prison population in Pennsylvania — a trend mirrored in many other parts of the country.

A report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released Wednesday found that prisons around the country have failed to manage that growth in a way that protects female prisoners and serves their needs.

Despite federal reforms, including the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), “incarcerated women continue to experience physical and psychological safety harms while incarcerated and insufficient satisfaction of their constitutional rights,” the commission noted.

It found that women are subjected to disproportionately harsh punishments in prison, frequently lack access to the same programs and services available to men, and risk alienation from their families or even losing parental rights.

And, the commission concluded, “sexual abuse and rape remain prevalent against women in prison.” It noted that PREA required the establishment of a prison-rape review panel that would hold annual public hearings; the panel has not met since 2014.

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Lebanon Co. inmate spends 400 days in solitary confinement for length of his hair

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WATCH TV NEWS REPORT HERE

LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — A Lebanon County inmate has spent more than 400 days in solitary confinement, not for bad behavior, but because of the length of his hair.Now, the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project has filed a motion on his behalf to have him released back into general population.“He is in his cell 23 hours a day or more, five days a week. He is allowed outside for up to an hour of recreation that can take place between midnight to 2 a.m.,” said Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz, managing attorney for the PA Institutional Law Project.This timeframe is the only time his attorney said he can make phone calls.

“So, it’s really led to a complete cut off between him and his family," Morgan-Kurtz said.

It is all because Eric McGill will not cut his hair.

A motion filed on February 19, 2020, said it is against his Rastafarian beliefs, and that he hasn’t cut his hair for several years.

Since he will not cut his hair, Lebanon County Correctional Facility has reportedly placed McGill in solitary confinement since January 19, 2019.