Judge: NC prisons must devise a plan to test all inmates for COVID-19

Siding with advocates who contend the state has failed to protect inmates from the spread of COVID-19, a North Carolina judge ruled Monday that the state prisons must come up with a plan for testing every inmate.

In addition, Wake County Superior Court Judge Vinston Rozier ruled that the prison system must sharply limit the transfers of inmates from prison to prison.

The judge’s ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of North Carolina, the NAACP and other civil rights groups, who argue that the actions of prison leaders have left inmates vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.

So far, North Carolina has tested fewer than 6% of state prison inmates — a far lower percentage than some other states. Rozier ordered that the state must come up with a plan for testing all inmates by June 22.

Tennessee was the first state to enact a plan to test all staff and people housed in state prisons on May 4. And on May 12, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced the mass-testing of inmates through self-administered tests after seeing a surge in illness and deaths among inmates and staff.

In a memo outlining his ruling, the judge wrote that the state “failed to provide substantial COVID-19 testing” and transferred inmates between facilities without properly preventing the spread of COVID-19. The state’s actions, the judge found, amounted to deliberate indifference.

“These actions, at the very least, lie ‘somewhere between the poles of negligence at one end and purpose or knowledge at the other,’ ” the judge wrote.

“Further, this Court holds that the risk of irreparable harm is present, including the risk of COVID-19 rapidly spreading throughout the vulnerable prison population, along with the substantial risk of death and long-lasting disability stemming from the disease.”

COVID-19 and other infectious diseases tend to thrive in prisons because inmates live so closely together. And those diseases endanger more than inmates and prison employees. That’s because employees can carry the virus to their families and communities.

Advocates see victory for public health

Prison advocates called the judge’s ruling a victory for inmates and public health.

“The deadly outbreaks in our state prisons have already claimed six lives and continue to threaten all North Carolinians, especially communities of color which have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic,” said Leah Kang, staff attorney at the ACLU of North Carolina. “We’re hopeful this ruling will help prevent further loss of life by forcing state officials to implement safety measures and release people from these dangerous conditions.”

Said the Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, president of the NC NAACP: “We will not stop our fight to ensure that the state of North Carolina upholds its constitutional obligations to those most vulnerable during this unprecedented pandemic.”

DHHS defines a COVID-19 outbreak as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases, meaning North Carolina has seen outbreaks in 12 of its prisons. The N.C. Correctional Institution for Women, in Raleigh, has one of the biggest state prison outbreaks, with 91 confirmed cases.

So far, five state prison inmates have died due to complications from COVID-19. At Caswell Correctional Center, nurse Barbara Stewart also died from the disease on May 7.

State prison leaders did not immediately say how they would respond to the judge’s order. They previously have said they’re following the recommendations of government health agencies, which urge testing when people show symptoms.

“The Department of Public Safety has just heard the judge’s order, received his bench memo, and is consulting with the North Carolina Department of Justice to determine next steps,” a prison spokesman wrote.

In early April, state officials sharply limited the transfer of inmates from county jails to prisons — and from prison to prison — in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

But on May 26, the prisons resumed transfers of inmates who have been promoted to lower-custody-level prisons or demoted to higher-custody-level prisons.

Officials also began transferring large numbers of inmates from county jails to state prisons this week.

In his order, Judge Rozier said the prisons must generally stop transferring inmates unless they need to be moved for medical reasons — and unless they are given a COVID-19 test.