Advocates Say Women's Lockup Failing Disabled Inmates
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A new report by a Maryland advocacy group says it has found "extreme isolation" and the threat of harm to numerous women with significant disabilities in a lockup's segregation, infirmary and mental health units.
Disability Rights Maryland investigated the lockup in response to the November 2017 suicide of an inmate with serious mental health issues.
They assert the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women failed to exercise reasonable standards of care for the inmate who hung herself in a segregated unit.
The group asserts the death of 28-year-old Emily Butler at the Jessup facility provides "tragic evidence of the harms and dangers of segregation, especially for individuals with disabilities."
Maryland's correctional services department says it's confident that the warden and staff are doing "everything in their power" to keep inmates safe.
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