Supreme Court Denies Appeal To Texas Detainees In COVID-19 Protection Case

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the request of two detainees to demand a Texas prison to provide more guarantees against contamination by COVID-19.

Prisoners Laddy Valentine, 69, and Richard King, 73, filed a class action on behalf of high-risk, disabled inmates against a geriatric jail in Grimes County, Texas, alleging that it violated their constitutional rights. except cruelty. and unusual treatment. One inmate, Leonard Clerkly, died last month from complications from COVID-19.

A district court ruled in his favor and ordered the prison to adopt a long list of measures, including unrestricted access to soap and hand sanitizer containing at least 60% of it. alcohol in public spaces. In addition, the prison was to educate and inform inmates about the pandemic and provide a detailed plan for the assessment of all inmates in the unit. The court also ordered numerous cleaning and disinfection protocols.

"The government has a constitutional duty to protect detainees from conditions of detention that create a substantial risk of serious harm," said US district judge Keith P. Ellison last month.

A federal court of appeal stayed the order, pending the appeal, and determined that the requirements go beyond guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A panel of judges said that there is "no doubt" that infectious diseases pose a risk of "serious or fatal harm" to detainees. But he said that many of the protective measures the prison had already taken were in line with what the district court had ordered.

The prisoners asked the Supreme Court to intervene to restore the order of the district court, and the judges refused to do so on Thursday evening.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, accompanied by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote separately to say that they agreed with the final court decision for now, but highlighted the problems they found them "disturbing" in the case and said they were comforted by the fact. that lower courts will require a report every 10 days on the status of detainees in prisons while the appeal is pending.

"As the circumstances of this case make clear, what is at stake could not be greater," wrote Sotomayor. "Just a few nights ago, interviewees revealed that many inmates and staff at the parcel unit were now HIV-positive for COVID-19 and that the vast majority of tests were positive in the past two weeks . "

Sotomayor ended the statement with a broader appeal.

"It has long been said that the value of a society can be judged by taking stock of its prisons. This is all the more true in this pandemic, where prisoners everywhere have become vulnerable and often powerless to protect themselves. Hopefully our facilities in the country will serve as models rather than storytelling. ; warning, "he said.

In court reports, Texas had argued that its criminal justice department had worked "diligently" to protect its prisons from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Many relief workers have requested that security measures be in place," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told the Supreme Court. He noted that Valentine was serving a 25-year sentence for child sexual abuse, contact with indecent children and various counts of sexual assault, and King was serving a life sentence for multiple murders in 1989. They are housed in the Wallace Pack Unit, a geriatric hospital. prison housing 1,248 detainees, 827 of whom are 65 years of age or older.

"The complainants have shown no irreparable harm as there is no evidence that the TDCJ's COVID-19 measures are inadequate, nor evidence that the district court command list will better protect them from this. what the defendants are already doing. "Paxton wrote.