The West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has given the state official notice that it will file a lawsuit on behalf of inmates housed at the South Central Regional Jail during the 2014 water crisis.
The lawsuit will allege that inmates at the jail between Jan. 9 and 14, 2014 were given inadequate amounts of drinking water and bathing water.
The inmates were "denied basic human needs, inflicted unnecessary and wanton pain and suffering, and put complainants' at substantial risk of physical injury, illness and premature death, in violation of complainants' rights," the notice states. It was filed Jan. 8 by ACLU attorney Jamie Lynn Crofts and Charleston attorney Anthony Majestro, who is working as a "cooperating attorney" with the ACLU, according to a news release Tuesday from the organization.
According to the notice, inmates were retaliated against when they requested adequate amounts of water and medical attention. The allegations against the state Regional Jail Authority are violations of the prisoners' constitutional rights, which prohibit, among other things, cruel and unusual punishment.
"During the water crisis, inmates were given as little as two bottles of water to drink per day," Crofts said in the release. "That is not enough to meet their basic needs. It is unacceptable both that inmates were not adequately cared for and that those who complained were punished."
In response to the notice, Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, provided the Gazette-Mail with information about how water was distributed to inmates. On Jan. 9, each inmate was given 8 ounces of water after dinner and before lockdown, he said. Inmates were given 32 ounces of water Jan. 10, and 24 ounces of other beverages. Inmates with prescriptions and those with special needs were given additional water. Between Jan. 11 and 16, inmates, according to Messina, were provided 48 ounces of water and 24 ounces of other beverages.
Also beginning Jan. 11, inmates were provided with gallon jugs of warmed water for bathing and brushing teeth during the evening, according to Messina.
"Officers worked overtime to conduct this process, section-by-section, until regular water use was restored in a given section," he said.
The governor's Constituent Services Office fielded two phone calls about water access for inmates, according to Messina, and the Regional Jail's central office received two complaints. Five inmates filed "sick call slips" alleging water-related issues in January, he added.
The lawsuit will seek monetary relief for the alleged damages sustained by inmates as well as request injunctive relief to correct agency policies, which led to the alleged violations, the notice states.
"People in state custody are among the most vulnerable members of society. It is my hope that this lawsuit will lead to proper planning and procedures for all state correctional facilities in the event of another contamination," Crofts said.
The January 2014 Elk River chemical spill from Freedom Industries contaminated the region's water supply and left thousands of West Virginians without potable water for days.
The ACLU plans to sue on behalf of former regional jail inmate Kelsey Legg and those similarly situated. Legg was sentenced to six to eight years in prison for accessory after the fact to murder and for helping conceal the body of Kareem Hunter, 28, who was beaten to death in the fall of 2013 in Legg's apartment in Marmet. She is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail and is expected to be released next year, according to the state Division of Correction's website.
"Clean and safe water for drinking and bathing is a basic human need, and people who were incarcerated did not have the ability to go to the store and purchase bottled water like everyone else," Majestro said in the release. "The state has a constitutional obligation to care for people in its custody."
State law requires notice be given to state agencies before a lawsuit is filed. The notice was sent to David Farmer, executive director of the state Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority; state Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.