The U.S. Supreme Court decided this week not to force Texas state prison officials to improve cleaning and safety protocols requested by inmates afraid of catching the coronavirus.
The order comes in response to a federal lawsuit filed in late March by two elderly Texas inmates who argued they were denied access to potentially lifesaving tools to combat the pandemic. A federal district court agreed, ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to immediately improve safety — including providing inmates with hand soap, bleach-based cleaning products and masks.
But the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked this ruling, issuing a stay. The court argued in part that the inmates should have submitted grievances with prison officials before filing a lawsuit.
In a statement accompanying the order, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the appellate court had sound legal reasoning to determine inmates should have submitted grievances before filing the lawsuit. But she wrote the statement to also “highlight the disturbing allegations” included in the lawsuit.
“It has long been said that a society’s worth can be judged by taking stock of its prisons,” her statement reads.
“That is all the truer in this pandemic, where inmates everywhere have been rendered vulnerable and often powerless to protect themselves from harm. May we hope that our country’s facilities serve as models rather than cautionary tales.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the statement, signaling her agreement with Sotomayor.
The Supreme Court’s order does not end the lawsuit, which is set to go to trial in July.
Sotomayor alluded to concerns with the inmate grievance process in her statement. She also highlighted district court testimony that showed cleaning procedures at the Wallace Pack Unit — a prison for elderly inmates north of Houston — had not changed since the pandemic, noting in great detail the death of one inmate and the fears of others.
“The Fifth Circuit seemed to reject the possibility that grievance procedures could ever be a ‘dead end’ even if they could not provide relief before an inmate faced a serious risk of death,” Sotomayor’s statement reads.
Earlier this month, state officials announced the start of widespread testing of inmates and employees. As of Thursday, TDCJ said seven staff members had died from the virus.
The department has conducted nearly 9,500 tests with nearly 1,800 offenders confirmed positive for the coronavirus. Although 452 have recovered, at least 32 have died, with autopsy results pending for an additional 25 deaths suspected of being from the virus.
More than 42,000 inmates are on lockdown, where they spend nearly all of their time in cells. In addition, 21,468 are in what TDCJ defines as “medical restriction.” The procedures are intended to limit the transmission of the virus.
A TDCJ spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Laddy Curtis Valentine, 69, and Richard Elvin King, 73, filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other inmates at the facility. Attorney Brandon Duke said the Supreme Court’s decision was unfortunate but his clients still have a strong chance of forcing prison officials to implement improved safety standards when they plead their case in future court hearings.
“We agree with Justice Sotomayor that we are measured by how we treat those in our prisons, especially these most vulnerable inmates,” Duke said in an emailed statement.
“More specifically, we agree that the district court’s injunction was based on detailed factfinding regarding the prison’s failure to live up to its promises and the woefully inadequate practices at this facility.”
