Prisoners left in ‘unbearable’ conditions after contracting hypothermia

A Virginia State Police investigator was left baffled by an inmate’s claims of “unbearable” conditions in a prison so frigid that toilet water froze and inmates were treated for hypothermia multiple times.

“How do you get hypothermia in a prison? ” the investigator questioned incredulously. “You shouldn’t.” This troubling conversation was recorded during a probe into the death of Charles Givens, a developmentally disabled inmate at Marion Correctional Treatment Centre, who had been hospitalized repeatedly for hypothermia, according to a report.

Despite a special grand jury reviewing the case and deciding against criminal charges, Givens’ sister has taken legal action in federal court. She claims her brother endured regular abuse, including “cold-water torture,” before he was fatally beaten in 2022.

Her lawsuit casts a spotlight on the dire conditions at the southwest Virginia facility, which a grand jury condemned as “inhumane and deplorable.”

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Documents seen by the Associated Press showed that inmates at Marion, primarily housing mentally ill prisoners, were admitted to hospitals for hypothermia at least 13 times over three years during colder months, amid concerns from medical staff about the low temperatures inside the prison.

“I am hopeful it may warm up some before fall officially sets in … but the colder temperatures make this specific population vulnerable to hypothermia and possibly pneumonia,” mentioned a concerned nurse practitioner at the prison back in September 2020, adding, “I know we are always trying to avoid hospital runs and such.”

Medical providers within the prison mulled over whether the anti-psychotic medicines being consumed by some inmates might have contributed to their hospital admissions due to hypothermia, based on the records. However, medical experts who are unaffiliated with the prison mentioned that such side effects are quite rare and the surge in hospitalisations should have been alarming.

“There’s something unusual about the circumstances that would be leading to this high number of hospitalizations for this condition that otherwise is really, really unusual, really rare,” emphasised Dr. Fred Jarskog, a professor of psychiatry at UNC-Chapel Hill and research director of the North Carolina Psychiatric Research Center. With ample certainty, he reiterated, “I can say that with a lot of confidence.”

Dr. Fred Jarskog, who has spent three decades treating patients using anti-psychotics, admitted having confronted “maybe” one case of hypothermia. Any single case of hypothermia concerning a patient at his hospital would spark discussions; therefore, numbers mimicking what the DOC has observed would necessitate “a massive investigation,” he concluded.

Kyle Gibson, a representative for the Virginia Department of Corrections, consistently refused to comment on what the records revealed or discuss the conditions within the prison, citing ongoing legal proceedings. He also failed to respond to an AP request for an interview with the facility’s warden or another DOC official responsible for Marion.

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Previously, both the Department of Corrections and the attorney general’s office withheld documents requested by the AP under the state’s open-records law, relating to Givens’ death and inmate complaints about cold temperatures.

Besides housing mentally ill inmates, Marion prison also accommodates general population offenders, like the individual seen conversing with the investigator in the video, who provide support services such as maintenance and cleaning.

A state procurement document from 2018, detailing renovations including an HVAC system replacement, stated that no significant improvements had been made to the building since its core structures were erected in 1955.

In a video clip obtained by the AP, an inmate informed the state police investigator that at least one section of the prison lacked functional heating, resulting in “unbearable” indoor temperatures he estimated to be in the 40s Fahrenheit (4.4 to 9.4 Celsius) or “maybe high 30s” in the cells he cleaned.

The inmate claimed that officers would intentionally open exterior windows as a form of punishment, making the cold conditions even worse. This claim is supported in the lawsuit, which argues that hypothermia without outdoor exposure is rare. The prisoner reported witnessing at least six individuals being treated for hypothermia.

The U. S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that while hypothermia, which can be fatal, is most likely to occur in extremely cold temperatures, it can also happen in cooler temperatures above 40 degrees (4.4 Celsius) if a person becomes chilled from water.

Emails and other documents obtained by the AP reveal discussions among medical workers at the prison about the cold conditions and their concerns about ensuring that housing unit windows were closed and blankets were available.

Court records obtained by the AP show an institutional investigator, who claimed to have worked at the prison for decades and reported directly to the warden, stating that the part of the facility where Givens was housed was colder than other areas. The investigator suggested he wouldn’t be surprised to hear of complaints about hypothermia.

Givens was hospitalised for hypothermia five times during the last year of his life. “I understand we all have concerns about Mr. Givens’ care,” a prison nurse noted in one email exchange. In general, the records reflect similar concerns about the facility that have been previously disclosed.

In 2022, a special grand jury, assembled at the behest of the top local prosecutor, labelled Givens’ death as “suspicious,” The report also stated that “nearly every witness” described the living conditions in the prison sector housing mentally ill inmates as “unsuitable.”

“More than one witness had observed ice formed on the water in toilets. We find these conditions to be inhumane and deplorable,” the report said.

Although the grand jury concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support an indictment in Givens’ death, it suggested that the case should be revisited “should other evidence come to light.”

All five officers named in the civil complaint have denied the allegations of torture and other misconduct, according to court documents.

As the lawsuit over Givens’ death continues, the Office of the Attorney General, which is representing two additional defendants who held supervisory roles at the prison, has unsuccessfully attempted to prevent further discovery into the issues of hypothermia or allegations of cold exposure.

The office argued in court documents that since an autopsy found Givens died of blunt-force trauma, “additional discovery into incidents unrelated or at best loosely related to Mr. Givens’ death will unnecessarily multiply these proceedings.” However, last month, a magistrate judge rejected the attorney general’s motion.

Numerous attempts to contact the defendants’ lawyers via email for comments on the case and allegations of freezing temperatures failed. However, none responded, except for a representative from the attorney general’s office who declined to comment due to the ongoing lawsuit. Mark Krudys, the lawyer representing Givens’ sister, Kym Hobbs, also declined to comment on the findings of the AP.

Givens was serving a sentence for the fatal shooting of a woman in 2010, who worked as a home health nurse for his mother. According to the lawsuit, Givens suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child after falling down a flight of stairs, which stunted his intellectual and emotional development to that of a second or third-grader.

Givens also had Crohn’s disease, which occasionally caused him to soil himself. His sister’s lawyers argue this made him a target for abuse. In July, it was reported that the FBI was investigating his death. The civil trial is scheduled for January.

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