Five DOC inmates sue WA over COVID-19 response

OLYMPIA, Wash.- A group of five current inmates at Washington Department of Corrections facilities is suing Governor Jay Inslee and the Director of the DOC Steven Sinclair for not protecting them from the COVID-19 Virus.

Two residents of the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, two at the Monroe Correctional Complex and one at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor claim Gov. Inslee is violating the State Constitution by not protecting all the citizens of Washington from the highly-contagious pathogen. All five fall into the high-risk category out forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as well as state and local health authorities.

"Prisons are congregate environments, and you have people that are living in crowded facilities, always within a couple feet of each other, so you can not reach the appropriate level of social distancing that is necessary to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus", says Nick Allen, Deputy Director for Advocacy at Columbia Legal Services.

For this reason, the lawsuit, filed directly to the Washington State Supreme Court, is calling for all current inmates over the age of 50, those with serious underlying health issues, or those who are currently or will be on work release in the next 18 months, be released from all local, county or state correctional facility. The suit demands Director Sinclair also ensure that each inmate released have access to housing and medical care.

Advocates are also calling on the DOC to suspend the policies and rules to allow inmates access to hand sanitizer.