Court orders state response to prisoner health after protest
OLYMPIA — Two days after more than 100 inmates staged a protest at the Monroe Correctional Complex, Washington Supreme Court judges directed the state to immediately “take all necessary steps to protect the health and safety” of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The order doesn’t identify any specific actions sought by the group of inmates who petitioned the court, including two currently housed at the Monroe prison, where coronavirus has begun to spread. In an emergency motion filed on Thursday, the inmates had called on the court to test all inmates and release those who are either medically vulnerable or nearing their release date. They also asked that a special master be appointed to oversee the prison system’s response to the pandemic.
Instead, Friday’s order requires Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Corrections Steve Sinclair to report to the court with an emergency plan no later than noon Monday. An updated report is then due Friday. Oral arguments regarding the inmates’ petition, filed last month, are scheduled to be heard April 23.
In a concurring opinion signed by three judges, Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud wrote she would have gone further and released the inmates who petitioned the court, citing the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected at least 10,244 people across the state as of Saturday, killing 491. Corrections officials reported that eight prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus, seven of whom are incarcerated in Monroe. At least 14 employees statewide have contracted the virus, including five in Monroe.
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