WHV whistleblowers blow the whistle!

Michigan’s only prison for women has drawn a lot of attention recently. Family members, observers and even state lawmakers have called for the resignation of  MDOC Director Heidi Washington following 4 recent deaths at the facility. As a result of these pressures, reported almost daily in the media, the warden of Women’s Huron Valley (WHV) took a leave of absence and the MDOC Director actually moved her office into the Ypsilanti facility for a while. 

Despite all of that, a couple of whistleblowers tell HFP things haven’t really changed all that much. 

On the subject of retaliation:

- “Many of the women here are scared to speak up due to the retaliation becoming worse and worse. The director may have walked off, but nothing has gotten better. Many of our voices are being silenced due to fear. Just because we did wrong, does not mean we deserve to be treated this way!”

- “If I make any suggestions or try to help I am cussed out or shoved out of the programs.”

 

On healthcare:

- “We have people getting killed because healthcare says they’re ‘faking their pain’ or ‘not in as much pain’ as they say.

- “My feet and legs are bad. Doc at Duane Waters (MDOC clinic) told me three years ago I needed to see someone that can tell me what is happening there, yet nothing has been done. I still am expected to stand in line for lunch for an hour with horridly sore feet. I have asked for a no-standing detail and am trying to stay out of a wheelchair. It’s worse to do trying to find pushers.”

 

On bathroom torture:

- “They have been, and still are, forcing inmates to wait 1-4 hours before going to the bathroom, humiliating us if we can't hold it, and sending us to seg if we still use the bathroom anyway. There are people urinating and more in trashcans and trays just to avoid seg.”

 

On prison cuisine:

-“The chow hall food is a large problem here. The regular meals contain a lot of tomato (acidic) which many are supposed to avoid. The subs are all soy which causes leaky gut syndrome (proven fact, report done in Illinois prisons). Portions are taken way down, even on holiday meals, while the foodservice people get to eat amply. They work hard and they need food but so do the rest of us.” 

We’ll be the first to admit that our office hears similar complaints from male occupants in many of the other 25 facilities in Michigan. We’re just hearing a lot from WHV these days because of all the media attention. It's fair to say that these problems and many other similar issues exist in our entire prison system...a system which, a former HFP board member/attorney insists, cannot be fixed. It’s too late. 

Says Marla Mitchell-Cichon, retired Director of the Cooley Innocence Project, “The state must start over again!” 

Comments from behind bars seem to affirm that position.