Safety of Barnstable inmates in question as ACLU sues the state. Here's what we know.

Rachael Devaney, Cape Cod Times
Updated ·4 min read

EDITOR'S NOTE: On May 17, 2023, a date in the photo caption was corrected.

In a lawsuit filed May 9, the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts accused the Office of the State Auditor of illegally withholding audit reports regarding prisoner deaths and health care at the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, according to court documents.

The state auditor's office issued two reports, according to the Massachusetts office of the ACLU, "Barnstable County Sheriff's Office - a Review of Healthcare and Inmate Deaths," on March 16 and "Plymouth County Sheriff's Department - a Review of Healthcare and Inmate Deaths," on March 15, covering July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021.

What did the audit say about the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office?

For the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office report specifically, the 20-page performance audit report delineated only one finding: that the sheriff's office "did not ensure that its inmates received health appraisals on time and that it documented the health appraisals and admission medical screenings." For that finding, the audit recommended that the sheriff's office ensure that the healthcare vendor completes health appraisals on time, documents the health appraisals and admission medical screenings, and has enough staff to do the job.

A performance audit of the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office from July 2019 to June 2021, conducted by the Office of the State Auditor and issued March 16, found the office did not ensure proper inmate health appraisals. The audit also cited a finding that was not made public. In this photo from May 9 is a cell at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne.

The audit of the Barnstable office identified one other issue, which was omitted from the report by citing an exemption in the state's public records law. The full report, with no omissions, was provided to the sheriff's office, the audit report stated.

The audit report was sent to Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley on March 16, according to the report. Buckley took office on Jan. 4, replacing former Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings, who held the job for 24 years.

The statewide ACLU characterized the Barnstable and Plymouth reports as incomplete. Within those reports, the auditor's office made reference to an issue that could impact the health and safety of inmates. The issue referenced was redacted, according to court documents.

Health concerns heightened at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne.

From 2017 to September 2022, there were four suicides and 63 attempted suicides at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, according to Cummings in 2022. Three deaths by suicide occurred in 2022, in June and mid-August.

Response to ACLU public records request was heavily redacted.

The ACLU responded with a public records request for the complete reports, and the Office of the State Auditor then produced heavily redacted versions of the report, which didn't describe the redacted issue, according to Daniel McFadden, staff attorney at the ACLU.

McFadden was not available to speak directly to the Times on Friday.

“Even if there is underlying confidential information that informed the audits, the audit results should not be confidential," said McFadden in a press release. "Our government should always strive for transparency and openness — especially when it relates to the life and death of people in its custody.”

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, demands complete audit reports.

Because the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office isn't a party in the lawsuit, Buckley, the current Barnstable County sheriff, said in an email that all questions must be sent to state auditors and the ACLU.

Is the redaction related to the health and safety of inmates?

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said the redacted information included in both reports has nothing to do with inmate healthcare, and instead pertains to cybersecurity.

"Cybercrimes are on the rise, and we continue to see governments at all levels subjected to cyber attacks due to the evolving sophistication of attackers," said DiZoglio in an emailed statement. "That’s why our office has a new IT audit unit dedicated to auditing information technology with a focus on cybersecurity in state agencies."

Auditor says the lawsuit was unnecessary. Her office learned about it from ACLU's Twitter feed.

DiZoglio said the Office of the State Auditor learned of the lawsuit pending against them through the Massachusetts ACLU’s Twitter feed. She called the lawsuit unnecessary and said her office wasn't given the opportunity to alleviate the ACLU's concerns and provide clarity, before the lawsuit was filed.

Exclusive in 2022: Three people die in 8 weeks at Barnstable County jail. Here's what we know

"Carelessly publicizing identified cybersecurity challenges found within state systems puts those systems at risk," she said. "If current ACLU leaders disagree with the law in this regard and believe we should instead publicize specific cybersecurity risks — they are, of course, welcome to make that case in court."

ACLU officials said the Office of the State Auditor justified its redactions with a reference to a public records law exemption and have not explained how this exemption would apply to information concerning the health care for incarcerated people.

DiZoglio said she remains available to speak directly with ACLU officials.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: ACLU lawsuit says MA auditor withheld Barnstable, Plymouth inmate info