By John Cheves
Lexington Herald-Leader
SHELBY COUNTY, Ky — A fast-spreading COVID-19 outbreak at Kentucky’s state prison for women in Shelby County has infected at least 60 inmates and six employees, corrections officials said Friday.
The state Corrections Department has finished mass testing all 639 inmates at the prison, spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said. The results returned so far show 60 positive and 399 negative, with 180 pending, Lamb said. The prison also has tested 209 employees, with 148 results returned so far and 61 pending, Lamb said.
However, a federal judge this week ruled against seven inmates with health problems who sued for immediate release or transfer to home confinement from the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley.
The inmates sued state Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews on June 15, alleging a violation of their Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
The inmates said prison officials responded slowly and incompetently to the viral outbreak, risking a repeat of the problems seen at another state prison, the Green River Correctional Complex in Muhlenberg County, where three inmates have died and 417 inmates and staff have been infected.
At the women’s prison, masks are not properly worn by many corrections officers and inmates, cleaning is inadequate and social distancing is not conducted in housing units and common areas such as dining halls, according to the lawsuit.
But U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ruled Wednesday that the inmates are not entitled to immediate release or transfer to home confinement. Van Tatenhove gave attorneys for the state 10 days to respond to the suit and explain the steps Kentucky is taking to protect inmates at the prison from getting infected.
“Continued incarceration of even high-risk prisoners does not necessarily, in and of itself, constitute an Eighth Amendment violation,” Van Tatenhove wrote in his opinion. “Consideration of petitioners’ claims requires a fact-based inquiry into whether KCIW reasonably responded to the risk posed to inmates from COVID-19, as well as consideration of other factors, such as the impact on the public from release of inmates.”
The ACLU of Kentucky, which represents the inmates, said it was “disappointed to see the judge’s order.”
“The rapidly growing number of cases at KCIW underscores the urgent need for action to protect the people incarcerated in that facility from this deadly virus,” said Aaron Tucek, ACLU legal fellow.
“Our clients have medical vulnerabilities that make them exceptionally vulnerable to COVID-19, and the only way they can protect themselves is if they are in a less crowded environment where social distancing and self-isolation is possible,” Tucek said.
The Corrections Department is cleaning aggressively to disinfect the women’s prison, particularly at entrances, Lamb said. Extra masks, soap and hand sanitizer is being distributed, she said.
None of the COVID-positive inmates are hospitalized, and none are pregnant, Lamb said. Infected inmates are kept isolated at the prison while infected employees are self-quarantining at home, she said.
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