COLUMBIA, S.C. — Questions are surrounding the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC).
While one side claims a victory, the other side says the lawsuit is irrelevant.
"I feel like this is a big step forward even though there's quite a bit of work left to do," said Shirene Hansotia, Criminal Justice Policy Council at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina.
Soon after the pandemic began, the ACLU of South Carolina set up a hotline to monitor the COVID response in our state's prison system.
"We were flooded with comments from loved ones and individuals who knew people in our prisons saying that they were not being protected, they were not getting tested," said Hansotia. "People were getting sick and afraid of being sick and dying."
To push for a policy at SCDC to combat COVID-19, the ACLU along with international firm Arnold & Porter filed a lawsuit against the agency and Governor Henry McMaster.
According to ACLU's website, the lawsuit "...sought immediate relief for inmates who are at particular risk of serious harm or death from COVID-19, including those who have serious underlying medical conditions, developmental disabilities or mental conditions or who are 50 years of age or older. Additionally, the suit sought further reduction in the prison population through release of people who are within six months of their anticipated release date, eligible for parole and disciplinary free for the past year, or in custody for technical violations of parole or probation."
Wednesday, the ACLU of South Carolina announced a resolution, saying SCDC added new procedures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Those include:
- Implementation of widespread testing
- A dramatic reduction in time for wardens to respond to grievances made by inmates regarding the COVID-19 policy
- A procedure for flagging parole-eligible individuals with underlying medical conditions for review and consideration by the Parole Board
In a statement by SCDC, they challenge the ACLU's announcement saying everything on the list is what they already do.
They said in-part: "When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, SCDC published the agency's Action Plan, which outlined practices put in place and actions to date. The agency has continued to publish information about its plans and practices as knowledge of the virus continues to evolve. Last week, SCDC completed its COVID-19 Guidelines policy, formalizing the practices that were put in place beginning in March."
The agency says they work with health care partners across the state to increase testing and get quicker results, even doing targeted group testing thanks to a partnership with MUSC.
"Director Bryan Stirling is very proud of the job his staff and officers do every day to keep inmates and the public safe," the statement continued. "The agency is glad the court recognized that effort so it can continue moving forward and finding solutions to fighting this invisible enemy."
Governor McMaster was dismissed from the lawsuit earlier this year.
Since March, over 2,200 inmates have contracted the virus and 31 have died.