Ely State Prison
Coordinates: 39°23′08″N 114°56′18″W / 39.3855°N 114.9384°W
 1999 aerial photo of the prison |
|
| Location | 4569 North State Route 490 Ely, Nevada 89702[1] |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°23′7.80″N 114°56′18.24″W / 39.3855°N 114.9384°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum |
| Capacity | 1,150[1] |
| Population | 1,077 male inmates[2] (as of September 1, 2010) |
| Opened | July 1989 |
| Managed by | Nevada Department of Corrections |
| Warden | E.K. McDaniel[1] |
Ely State Prison is a maximum security penitentiary located in unincorporated White Pine County, Nevada, north of Ely. The facility, operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections, opened in July 1989. Phase I was completed and opened in August of that year. Phase II was completed in the month of November in 1990. Originally Ely had a capacity of 1,054; as of 2010 its capacity is for 1,150. The prison has a staff of 406 and is a major employer in the Ely area.[1] As of September 2010, the prison housed 1,077 male inmates.[2]
The state's death row for men is located at Ely State Prison.[1] Executions by the state of Nevada are carried out at Nevada State Prison.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Allegations of Inadequate Medical Care and ACLU Lawsuit
Ely State Prison was the recipient of numerous criticisms by the American Civil Liberties Union regarding its alleged failure to provide adequate medical care to its inmates.[4]
Dr. William Noel, a medical expert retained by the ACLU, produced a report in December 2007 that described his review of the medical records of thirty five prisoners from ESP. He wrote that "the medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering, that I have ever encountered in the medical profession in my thirty-five years of practice." [5]
His report describes in detail the death of Patrick Cavanaugh, an inmate who he claims died due to complications of diabetes, after having received no insulin for a period of three years and having his ulcerated legs left to fester without treatment or amputation.[6] The report also mentions accounts of wholly untreated cases of chronic pain,[7] hepatitis,[8] fibromyalgia,[9] rheumatoid arthritis[9] and syphilis.[10] The report also notes cases in which an epileptic patient was not regularly equipped with a helmet; in which a stroke sufferer was not given any physical therapy nor even an arm brace to prevent the eventual contraction of his affected limb;[11] and in which a patient was switched back to a potentially lethal medication seemingly out of spite on the part of the prescribing doctor.[12]
On January 23, 2008, the ACLU met with the Nevada State Board of Prison Commissioners seeking a consent decree which would voluntarily have let a federal court oversee prison medical care. Nevada Governor, Jim Gibbons, and other commissioners were presented with a report by Corrections Director Howard Skolnik and Ely State Prison medical director Dr. Robert Bannister refuting Noel's findings. The commissioners rejected the ACLU's request at this point in time.[4]
On March 6, 2009, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Corrections, Governor Gibbons and other state officials. In it, they sought to have a federal judge find that the Corrections Department had not provided inmates with adequate medical care.[4] The suit was settled in July 2010, with the Nevada Corrections Department agreeing to appoint an independent medical expert to monitor the prison's health care system and to submit regular reports evaluating officials' compliance with various medical requirements. It was also agreed that nurses would make daily rounds at the prison to pick up medical request forms and that inmates would have access to a registered nurse or higher level practitioner within forty eight hours of requesting medical attention.[13]
[edit] 2010 Prisoner Riot
In November 2009, prisoners report that inmates who had been placed in "Disciplinary Segregation" were strategically moved to wings of Ely State Prison in which they were deliberately surrounded by offenders in protective custody and prisoners suffering from severe mental illness. This was alleged to be an attempt to psychologically intimidate those transferred, and it has been related that guards escalated tensions by removing prisoners' appliances in violation of protocol and failing to respond to inmate communications.
On January 31, 2010, those imprisoned in Block 4B of the prison retaliated for these perceived abuses by inducing flooding and burning, and interfering with food slots and sprinkler systems, in an attempt to force guards into a confrontation as they tried to extract the riotous inmates from their cells. This conflict over what amounted to sixteen cell extractions left three prisoners badly injured, with one inmate requiring care from an outside hospital due to head trauma. Prisoners report that all guards involved in the altercation received some manner of injury, and that one received a debilitating stab wound.[14]
[edit] Notable inmates
| Inmate | Number | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Mack | 1014861[15] | Eligible for parole in 2042 | Murder |
| Jeremy Strohmeyer | 59389[16] | Transferred to Lovelock Correctional Center | Murder |
| Ike Ibeabuchi Boxer - Undefeated WBC Int Heavy Weight Champion - | 71979[17] | Next parole hearing 2012 | battery with intent to commit a crime and attempted sexual assault |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "NDOC: Ely State Prison". Nevada Department of Corrections. April 27, 2010. http://www.doc.nv.gov/esp/. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- ^ a b Offender Management Division (September 1, 2010). "Report 1.1: Daily Offender Count by Location". Nevada Department of Corrections. http://www.doc.nv.gov/stats/2010/09/Report_1_1_to_1_5_September_2010.pdf. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ "NDOC: Organization". Nevada Department of Corrections. September 22, 2008. http://www.doc.nv.gov/organization.php. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c Vogel, Ed (March 6, 2008). "Ely State Prison: Lawsuit to be filed over inmate care". Las Vegas Review Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/news/16328931.html.
- ^ William, Noel. "Report Prepared for the National Prison Project of the ACLU: Review of Medical Records from Ely State Prison". pp. 1-2. http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/expert-report-dr-noel-medical-care-ely-state-prison.
- ^ Noel, p. 2-3
- ^ Noel, p. 10
- ^ Noel, p. 16, 18
- ^ a b Noel, p. 5
- ^ Noel, p. 3-4
- ^ Noel, p. 11-12
- ^ Noel, p. 17
- ^ "ACLU Agrees To Settle Lawsuit Charging Inadequate Medical Care At Nevada's Ely State Prison" (Press release). American Civil Liberties Union. July 16, 2010. http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/07/16.
- ^ Sheff, Coyote (February 14, 2010), "Riot at Ely State Prison: It was a battle!", San Francisco Bay View, http://sfbayview.com/2010/riot-at-ely-state-prison-it-was-a-battle/, retrieved March 2, 2011
- ^ "Nevada Offender Tracking Information System: Darren R. Mack". http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/search.php?first_name=Darren&middle_name=R&last_name=Mack&Action=Search%20Database. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ "Nevada Offender Tracking Information System: Jeremy Strohmeyer". http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/search.php?first_name=Jeremy&last_name=Strohmeyer&Action=Search%20Database. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- ^ "Nevada Offender Tracking Information System: Ike Ibeabuchi". http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/detail.php?offender_id=71979.
[edit] External links
- Ely State Prison at the Nevada Department of Corrections (Official site)
- Coyote Calling: a blog by prison activist Coyote Sheff regarding conditions at E.S.P. and activism in response to them.
