Pittsfield Twp. — Family and friends of inmates who’ve died at Michigan’s only women’s prison since May are calling for the facility to be shut down and for independent investigations to be done into the deaths.
More than 40 loved ones, along with advocates, gathered outside the Pittsfield Township prison Wednesday evening to hold a vigil for the women who’ve died and to speak out against the wrongs they feel are occurring in the prison. They said inadequate health care, mold in the prison and a lack of care have contributed to these women’s deaths.
“My daughter was taken from me… She was there to serve her sentence, not to lose her life. No matter what mistakes she may have made, she was still human,” said Shaquillia DeShields, the mother of Khaira Howard, in a statement read by Howard’s father, Don Howard. “She still deserved compassion, dignity, and proper medical care. … I trusted that while she was in there, in their care, her basic human needs, including her medical need, would have been met.”
Howard, 28, died of a blood clot May 18 at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. Rebecca Fackler, 57, died May 17; Ashley Hoath, 36, died June 6 by suicide; and Dalephenia Jones, 62, died July 2.
The Michigan Department of Corrections has not released any of its internal reports into the four deaths. But autopsy reports revealed Hoath died of suicide and Howard died from a blood clot in her lung. The autopsy reports for the other two women who died have not been released.
An air quality assessment at the prison found no widespread mold contamination, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections, despite numerous reports from inmates and staff about dangerous levels. MDOC denies mold is a problem at the prison.
MDOC said it has done work to improve health and safety at Women’s Huron Valley, including bringing in additional leadership and health care staff, improving communication processes and working to develop a new health care staffing plan which includes hiring more full-time medical staff.
Family of Hoath and Jennifer Wallace — a woman who died of sepsis while in custody at the prison in November — spoke at the vigil Wednesday, along with former inmates and those with family and friends still inside.
“They murdered my daughter by neglect,” said Wallace’s mother, Susan Wallace.
Wallace, 54, died of sepsis while in custody at MDOC, stemming from what her family believes was an abscessed tooth that became infected after she could not get treatment for it.
“The last thing she said to me was ‘Mom, I don’t deserve this,'” Susan Wallace said. “None of them deserved this.”
The deaths led 30 state lawmakers on May 19 to urge the resignation of MDOC Director Heidi Washington, citing a history of problems at the state’s prisons under her leadership.
Women’s Huron Valley has recently been under fire over its conditions. A state House oversight committee heard testimony in February from prisoners, advocates and former staff who testified about the conditions, including mold and a lack of medical care, similar to complaints that have risen since the four women’s deaths.
The prison’s warden, Jeremy Howard, was put “temporarily on personal leave,” the department said in June.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Families demand answers after 4 deaths at Michigan’s women’s prison
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
