Free soap and health care: Arizona prisons announce plans to prevent coronavirus

Arizona prisons are taking steps to protect thousands of inmates from the novel coronavirus after being pressured by lawyers and a federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver ordered the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to respond to claims that it didn't have a clear plan in place. On Wednesday, the state submitted a plan that includes waiving the $4 health care fee for inmates and providing inmates with soap at no cost.

The illness can spread quickly in enclosed spaces, particularly among individuals with chronic health problems. No cases have been reported in Arizona prisons. However, prisons and jails have become outbreak hot spots in other countries.

On Monday, lawyers representing inmates asked Silver to force the department to come up with a plan with the court's medical expert. The lawyers visited the Florence facility last week and described it as having "unsanitary conditions," according to a letter they sent to Timothy Bojanowski, the lawyer for the department.

"The tens of thousands of people in ADC custody are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses, and the risk here is only heightened by the unsanitary conditions in the prisons, failure to take strong and sensible precautionary measures, and the already inadequate medical staffing and treatment," the attorneys wrote.

The American Civil Liberties Union also called on state lawmakers, police and county attorneys throughout Arizona to take steps to protect inmates in jails and prisons.

Suggested steps included releasing nonviolent inmates from prisons.

Reason for the concerns

There is already a longstanding lawsuit against the state prisons by inmates who claimed healthcare was inadequate.

Lawyers at the Arizona Center for Disability Law, American Civil Liberties Union, the Prison Law Office and other firms filed sued the state prisons in 2012. A settlement was reached in 2014, but the state has failed to meet the terms of the settlement and the legal battle has continued.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults and those with chronic conditions are at higher risk of getting very sick from the new coronavirus. Both of those populations tend to be high in prisons.

The lawyers stated in their letter to the department that they saw "crowded, filthy, unventilated dorms, tents, and Quonset huts housing elderly, frail men with chronic health conditions and multiple disabilities," when visiting the Florence prison.

Quonest huts are lightweight, semi-circular steel structures.

The inmates' lawyers in their letter said the state prison system's initial plan wasn't adequate to address the new coronavirus, and that endangers both the prison population and the broader community.

They asked the judge to force the department to reduce the density of the prison population, provide screening and education,  stop charging inmates for soap and lift the ban on alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Plan for prevention

It its response to the court, the department said the safety and well-being of employees, inmates and visitors is its top priority. 

"Plaintiffs’ Emergency Motion assumes no plan is in place, accuses ADCRR —

without a single shred of evidence — of not taking this issue seriously, and requests an order requiring ADCRR to implement a plan developed by Dr. Stern," the department stated in its response to the court. "As a preliminary matter, such an order (and request) is beyond the scope of the Court’s enforcement jurisdiction." 

The department said the lawyers' claims of the Florence prison being "filthy" doesn't demonstrate how it is able to handle the coronavirus.

"All inmates, including indigent inmates, are also provided sufficient hygiene items, including soap and shampoo on a monthly basis," the department stated in court records.

It went on to say, "As to general housing unit sanitation, inmate pod porters clean housing unit common areas and showers daily, and inmates are provided access to cleaning supplies to clean their own cells."

According to the department, wardens are starting to initiate weekly deep cleaning at each facility and updating leadership on the availability of certain items for staff and inmates, including paper towels, soap, hygiene and cleaning products.

Hand soap will now be provided free to inmates until the emergency declaration of coronavirus is over.

Bill Lamoreaux, the department's spokesman, told The Arizona Republic that it still will strictly control inmates' access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

The department told the court it will allow staff to have their own hand sanitizer if they are able to keep track of it while working.

"Because ADCRR currently permits inmate smoking at designated prison complex locations, inmates are restricted from access to alcohol-based hand sanitizer to prevent associated misuse and fire setting risks," the department stated in its response to the court.

Other changes for inmates

The department provided the court a series of ways it, and contracted health care provider Centurion, have taken steps over the past few days and months to prevent and plan for a possible coronavirus outbreak:

• On March 4, Centurion talked with employees about social distancing, sick days and communication procedures.
• On March 6, Centurion gave the department a copy of its inmate screening tool to give to county sheriffs for use in jails.
• On March 10, the Arizona Department of Health Services recommended Centurion check the temperatures of inmates returning from daily work crew assignments.
• On March 13, the department suspended visitations for at least the next 30 days.
• On March 16, CenturyLink began offering inmates two 15-minute phone calls for free in addition to their existing phone and written letter privileges. The department said it is looking into video visitation options.
• Also on March 16, Centruion sent more information to staff about how to deal with the illness, and protocol on how to handle symptoms.
• On March 17, inmate classes provided by local community colleges were suspended.
• On March 18, the department waived the $4 co-pay for health services for inmates who experience flu-like or cold symptoms. Centurion suspended all nonessential health care services.

The department has restricted routine internal movement by inmates.

All employees are required to undergo an infectious disease symptoms check before entering the prisons. Centurion will help the department check staff for symptoms before they enter each facility. 

According to the department, inmate work crews will be checked for exposure risks and symptoms when leaving and returning to the facilities. 

The department said it is working with Centurion to teach staff and inmates about the illness and how they can reduce the risk of getting ill. Information is being posted throughout facilities.

ACLU call to action 

ACLU of Arizona is asking Gov. Doug Ducey to order the release of elderly, nonviolent and other inmates who pose little to no risk to the public.

"Like all other public agencies, all aspects of the system — from policing and pretrial through sentencing, confinement, and release — will come under intense scrutiny for how the system responds to this national public health crisis," the organization stated in its letter.

It is also asking police agencies to stop arresting people for low level offenses and for sheriffs to adopt plans to prevent the spread of illness in the jails. It is also asking sheriffs to not hold people in jail for civil immigration purposes.

The ACLU is asking county attorneys and the Arizona Attorney General's Office to limit the number of people who are held in jails or other facilities by reducing requests for pretrial detention and sentences.

The Arizona Justice Alliance sent a letter to Ducey, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone and Department of Corrections Director David Shinn asking them to take action. The letter was signed by faith leaders, several Democratic state lawmakers and community members. 

"This is a critical moment for Arizona to align with best practices and protect

this highly vulnerable population with a humane, safety-focused, public health response," the organization stated in the letter. 

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said in a statement that it is asking prosecutors to look at a variety of factors, including the nature of the crime and the input of the victim, when determining the need to reduce the number of people interacting with the criminal justice system. 

Have thoughts about health care access in Arizona prisons? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lauren_Castle.

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