Lawsuit filed in Taycheedah inmate's deathhttp://http://www.postcrescent.com/article/99999999/APC0101/704250628/Lawsuit-filed-in-Taycheedah-inmate-s-deathTreatment used
alleged to worsen mental state
Poor mental health care as well as a slow response from guards and medical staff contributed to the suicide of a mentally ill prison inmate, a lawsuit alleges.
James Gende, a Waukesha attorney, filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee on behalf of Angela Enoch's estate and surviving family members.
Enoch, a mentally ill teen who had been in and out of institutions and foster care, died in June 2005 when she was 18. She used a ripped seam from a pillow to strangle herself in an observation cell of the segregated unit at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, the state's largest prison for women near Fond du Lac.
"I think the system turned her into a throwaway child," Gende said Tuesday. "The treatment she received while incarcerated by the Department of Corrections was a substantial cause of the deterioration of her mental health status, which resulted in her successful suicide."
The suit, which names Gov. Jim Doyle, Corrections Secretary Matt Frank, and 20 corrections employees as defendants, seeks a jury trial and damages of $10 million. Enoch's mother, Roxanne Enoch of Hayward, is named along with Enoch's two minor sisters as plaintiffs.
"We are in the process of reviewing the lawsuit and conferring with our legal counsel and it would be premature to comment on the matter at this time," John Dipko, a Department of Corrections spokesman, said Tuesday. "However, we take any suicide that occurs in our prison system very seriously and we re-evaluate our practices and policies in each instance to see if there are any actions that could have prevented the death and if there are any changes that need to be made."
ACLU, Justice Department also cite Enoch case
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a pending class-action lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and a separate U.S. Department of Justice investigation, both of which allege grossly deficient medical and mental health care at Taycheedah.
The prison, which has about 730 inmates, has the highest ratio of mentally ill offenders of Wisconsin's 19 correctional institutions, state Department of Corrections officials say. About two-thirds of its inmates have mental health needs.
The ACLU suit notes that the suicide rate among inmates in segregated units is 10 times the rate of those in the general-population units in Wisconsin prisons. In segregation, inmates typically spend 23 hours of each day alone in a cell, and are given about one hour outside of it to exercise.
Corrections officials say they have been working to improve mental health care at the prison and now give a closer review of inmates considered for segregation.
Enoch's death is recounted in both the ACLU and Justice Department complaints. But the latest 20-page lawsuit offers new details alleging how Taycheedah's response to Enoch's mental illness ultimately led to her death.
"That because of her severe mental illnesses, Enoch was placed in solitary confinement in (Taycheedah's) Segregation Unit," the suit alleges. "… Solitary confinement results in exacerbation of previously existing mental illnesses. It is also likely that individuals, like Enoch, will suffer permanent harm due to their solitary confinement."
Suit alleges prison failures
Enoch entered Wisconsin's juvenile court system at age 12 and was charged with her first adult crime at 14. She had a history of assaults, as well as self-destructive and suicidal behavior.
She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, personality disorder, mood disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Despite a court order to give Enoch her prescription medications, Taycheedah staff "failed to take the necessary action in administering (her) prescribed medications in the days immediately preceding her death of June 19, 2005," the lawsuit alleges.
The suit also alleges it took staff six to eight minutes to enter Enoch's cell after observing her strangling herself.
"(Taycheedah) staff's reaction to Enoch's self-strangulation was unreasonably delayed and in violation of their standard operating procedures for response to an emergency situation, which was a substantial cause of Enoch's death," the suit reads.
Among the violations of law, the suit alleges wrongful death, cruel and unusual punishment, violation of equal protection, and violations of the federal Rehabilitation Act and the American with Disabilities Act.
The suit also alleges gender-based disparities. Female prisoners are not afforded the same level of psychiatric care available to male offenders at the Wisconsin Resource Center, a specialized mental health facility administered by the state Department of Health and Family Services through a partnership with the Department of Corrections.
"If Angela had been a man, she never would have been in that segregation unit," Gende said. "She'd have been in a mental health facility."
The Department of Corrections' Committee on Inmate/Youth Deaths reviewed Enoch's suicide, Dipko said. However, the committee's findings are confidential under state law, he added.
In Doyle's proposed two-year budget, the state Building Commission has approved an $11 million proposal for a 45-bed female inmate treatment facility at the Wisconsin Resource Center. His budget also includes a request for 33 additional permanent positions for medical and mental health care at the prison, at a cost of $2.7 million.
Wendy Harris can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 526, or
wharris@postcrescent.com. Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers contributed to this report.
I just want to bring an important issue to everyones attention....................
Angela was my good friend for about a year.
She killed herself at 18. (honestly I do not blame her)
This girl was funny and beautiful and talented.
The State of Wisconsin TORTURED her for years. :suicide:
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjGgy1iibioThe Good news is I have a presentation to do for D.H.S. and D.O.C. on Monday.
