|
View Case
|
|
Cited Cases
|
|
Citing Cases
|
|
Comment (0)
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WESTEFER v. SNYDER
725 F.Supp.2d 735 (2010)
United States District Court, S.D. Illinois.
July 20, 2010.
It is undisputed among the parties to this case that the supermax prison at Tamms is the highest security prison in Illinois, featuring uniquely restrictive conditions of confinement designed both to control the most high-security inmates in the IDOC system and to encourage inmates at lower-security prisons to comply with IDOC rules to avoid being transferred to the supermax prison. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 4 ¶ 7, 4 ¶ 9; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 1 ¶ 2, 2 ¶ 7, 2 ¶ 9; Doc. 175 (Response to Plaintiffs' Request for Admissions) at 6 ¶ 13. Consistent with the unique role that the supermax prison at Tamms is meant to play in the IDOC system, the prison was never intended to be full and has been approximately half-full since its opening in 1998. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 4 ¶ 8; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 2 ¶ 8; Welborn Deposition at 54-57. IDOC Director Randle testified that it is "a good thing" that Tamms operates at about half capacity "because it shows that our staff and inmates, for the most part, are doing the right things and our prisons are safe. If Tamms were full, I would be concerned about the 27 other prisons [in the IDOC system] because it would indicate that there is some bad things happening out there." Doc. 522 (Randle Testimony) at 44. It appears that Tamms has succeeded in its purpose. According to IDOC Director Randle, "incidents of inmate-on-inmate assaults, inmate-on-staff assaults, gang related activities, the number of lock down days, all of those indicators that we look at in terms of providing a safe environment in the other 27 prisons have all gone down and that directly correlated with the opening and operation of Tamms." Id. at 8. It is equally apparent to the Court from the testimony it heard from IDOC inmates, including present and past inmates of Tamms, that the inmates genuinely fear the supermax prison and do not want to be confined there. The salient feature of confinement in the supermax prison at Tamms is the total absence of any congregate inmate activities, save with the exception of J-pod, a
special treatment unit for inmates that have been diagnosed with serious mental illness where inmates are permitted to participate in congregate therapy sessions. See Doc. 433 (Transcript of Day 2 of Bench Trial) at 112-13. The supermax prison at Tamms consists of nine pods; eight pods have six wings, while J-pod has two wings. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 4 ¶ 11; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶ 11. The wing of a typical pod at Tamms has two tiers, each containing five one-man cells and a shower cell where inmates bathe individually without privacy. See Doc. 433 (Day 2 Trial Transcript) at 108. Adjacent to each wing is an exercise yard. See id. at 108-09. Each pod also contains a multipurpose room to which inmates are brought individually for religious services (there are no congregate religious services at Tamms), mental health counseling, and, for inmates assigned to Tamms in administrative detention, annual transfer review hearings. See id. at 107. There is also a room styled a library where inmates are brought individually to review materials that they have ordered ahead of time from the central prison library. See id. Each pod contains a medical service area that is equipped with a separate shower where both emergency care and extended care can be provided, together with dental and optometry services. See id. at 109. With respect to the prison commissary, Tamms does not have a commissary of the traditional kind. Instead, inmates order items from a company outside the prison which are then brought to their cells; in general inmates may not spend more than $30 per month. See id. at 111. In sum, inmate life at Tamms is structured so that inmates spend the vast majority of their time alone in their cells and, barring a medical crisis severe enough to require a visit to the prison's infirmary for long-term medical care, all of their time in their assigned pod. See id. at 109. Each cell at Tamms is approximately nine feet by fifteen feet with walls that are approximately nine feet high. A typical cell at Tamms is of pre-cast concrete construction, containing a toilet and sink, a stainless steel mirror (for inmates who are authorized to have one), a small shelf high on the wall by the door, a concrete slab for use as a desk, a concrete bunk on which to sleep (with, perhaps, a mattress) at the far end of the cell opposite the door, and a window set at the top of the wall over the bunk; all of the furniture in a typical Tamms cell is made of reinforced concrete. See Doc. 433 (Day 2 Trial Transcript) at 108; Photographs of Tamms (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 13; Doc. 267-3 (Welborn Orientation Presentation) at 9. The window of a typical Tamms cell cannot be operated from inside the cell and is positioned so that, without making unusual efforts, all that an inmate can see through it is a sliver of sky. See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 267-3 (Welborn Orientation Presentation) at 9; Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 13; Doc. 514 (Testimony of Rodney Guthrie) at 21. The door of a typical cell is made of steel mesh perforated with small holes so as to reduce severely visibility inside and outside the cell. See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 13; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶ 13. There is a small chuck hole in the door of each cell; through the chuck hole an inmate receives and returns plastic trays bearing his meals (all Tamms inmates eat alone in their cells). See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 14; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶ 14. The chuck hole is locked from the outside and provides no visibility into or out of the cell. See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶¶ 13-14; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶¶ 13-14. Inmates
at Tamms are only permitted two small property boxes and there are limits on the amount of individual items of property they may have; for example, inmates may keep a maximum of twenty-five books and fifteen pictures in their cells. See Doc. 433 (Testimony of James Hughes) at 80-81. Tamms inmates spend between twenty-three and twenty-four hours a day in their cells. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 13; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶ 13. Depending on their behavioral status, inmates are permitted to have either a television or a radio, or else a television and a walkman, in their cells. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 5 ¶ 13; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 3 ¶ 13. Because inmates at Tamms are not given work assignments (and thus cannot earn wages), it may be difficult for indigent inmates to afford a television, radio, or walkman. See Doc. 175 (Response to Request for Admissions) at 17 ¶ 83; Doc. 433 (Testimony of Alonzo Franklin) at 38-39. As noted, inmates at Tamms spend the vast majority of their time alone in their cells. Inmates assigned to Tamms in disciplinary segregation are permitted at least one shower a week and up to five hours of exercise yard time per week. See Tamms Closed Maximum Security Facility Inmate Orientation Manual (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 11) at 26. Inmates who are placed at Tamms in administrative detention are permitted to leave their cells according to which of three security "levels" they have been assigned by reason of the quality of their behavior and the length of time they have been at Tamms. See id. at 26-27. As administrative detention prisoners move from level one to level three, they are granted more privileges: thus, administrative detention prisoners in level one are permitted two showers per week and two hours of exercise yard time per week, and administrative detention prisoners in level three are permitted five showers per week and seven hours of exercise yard time per week. See id. An exercise yard at Tamms is an empty concrete room with a hard composite deck that is about fifteen by twenty feet (approximately the size of two cells), with walls about thirty feet high; only about a third of the yard is uncovered, and through this small uncovered space inmates occasionally are able to see a bird or an airplane passing overhead. See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 433 (Day 2 Trial Transcript) at 108-09; Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 7 ¶ 19; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 5 ¶ 19; Doc. 514 (Guthrie Testimony) at 22. A typical exercise yard in the supermax prison at Tamms does not contain a bathroom, a water fountain, or any kind of exercise equipment (such as a basketball hoop, for example). See Tamms Photographs (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12); Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 7 ¶ 19; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 5 ¶ 19. Tamms inmates go to the exercise yard alone (observed by an armed guard in a control center) and the inmates are not permitted to exercise together. See Doc. 144 (Complaint) at 7 ¶ 18; Doc. 148 (Answer) at 5 ¶ 18. Additionally, an inmate may be deprived of his exercise yard privileges for an extended period as a result of infractions of prison discipline. See id. Consistent with the general prohibition of congregate inmate activities at Tamms, the supermax prison imposes heavy restrictions on the ability of inmates to communicate with one another. Inmates at Tamms are not permitted to communicate with other prisoners when outside their cells, and while it appears that inside their cells inmates can communicate with inmates in other cells, they can do so only with considerable difficulty. As noted, the doors of the cells at Tamms are made of steel mesh, so that an inmate cannot see into or out of a cell without hindrance. Thus, inmates cannot see one another and can communicate between cells only by
standing beside the door of their cells and speaking loudly so as to be heard in other cells. IDOC inmate Larry Strickland, who was confined at Tamms from May or June of 1998 until approximately October of 1999 and who now is confined at Pontiac, testified to the unique difficulty of communicating with other inmates at Tamms: Down at Tamms you can't communicate with nobody because you don't know if somebody on the other yard or not. And it's hard, you know, if you don't know a person if you can't see a person it's hard to, you know, communicate. `Cause you don't know who you are talking to. Most people just don't talk to anybody unless they see you and able to see who you are or what. * * * * * *
1. The Court notes that there is also a minimum security prison at Tamms; all references to Tamms in this Order are to the supermax prison there.
2. This perhaps is the place to note that this Order is intended to be a concise account of the bench trial conducted on the procedural due process claims in this case, and to that end only matters deemed by the Court to be credible, material, and relevant will be reported. The reader should presume that evidence omitted from the Court's findings of fact was considered by the Court to be irrelevant or in any event less persuasive than competing evidence. The Court notes in passing that, in addition to alleging violations of procedural due process, Plaintiffs Von Perbandt, Taylor, Sparling, Sorrentino, Santiago, V. Rodriguez, E. Rodriguez, Lasley, Knox, Horton, Harper, Felton, Combs, Clayton, Chapman, Burrell, Bivens, and Cunningham also assert claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that they were assigned by Defendants to the supermax prison at Tamms in retaliation for filing grievances and lawsuits and engaging in other protected activities challenging the conditions of their confinement, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. These retaliation claims have been resolved in a series of jury trials, and they are not at issue here.
3. In fact, statistical data assembled by the IDOC shows that the average time served for the current population at Tamms is 73.4 months, or over six years. See Ten-Point Plan (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 7) at 6. Seventy of the 243 inmates (28.3%) have been at Tamms for at least ten years, and more than half have been at Tamms for over five years. See id. at 8. Over three-quarters (76.9%) or 190 of the inmates at Tamms have been there for over three years. See id., Table 4.
4. The Court recognizes that it is assuming here that, were work, education, and substance abuse programs available at Tamms, inmates of the supermax prison would participate in such programs. This assumption seems reasonable to the Court. Participation in such programs doubtless would be a happy alternative to the crushing monotony of being confined alone in a cell for up to twenty-four hours a day that currently is the lot of Tamms inmates. Also, it seems probable that Tamms inmates would welcome the opportunity to earn money by participating in work programs, in order to purchase small items like walkmans or arch supports that make life in a place like Tamms somewhat more bearable. See Doc. 433 (Testimony of Adolfo Rosario) at 50-51 (the witness, a Tamms inmate, complained that the shoes issued to him by Tamms correctional personnel lack arch supports, but he cannot purchase shoe inserts at the prison commissary because he is indigent and has no money to spend at the commissary).
5. Finally, although strictly speaking Point Two of IDOC Director Randle's Plan is not concerned with the issue of whether or not an inmate should be placed at Tamms, it is worth noting that Point Two protects inmates from spending an unnecessary amount of time in the supermax prison. Under the Plan, as already has been noted, upon arrival at Tamms new inmates of the supermax prison will be advised at orientation of the probable length of their stay at the prison, expressed as a range of possible terms of supermax confinement; further, inmates will work with counselors to ensure that they achieve the behavioral levels necessary to be transferred out of Tamms in the least possible time. See Ten-Point Plan (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 7) at 16; Doc. 522 (Randle Testimony) at 13-14.
|
|
|
|
|