[Nfbwv-talk] Fwd: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] Maryland Settles Discrimination Case by Blind Inmates for $1.4 Million

Wed Jun 5 18:38:16 UTC 2019

 This is awesome and sad at the same time !

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Danielsen, Chris via State-Affiliate-Leadership-List <
state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 5, 2019 at 2:27 PM
Subject: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] Maryland Settles Discrimination
Case by Blind Inmates for $1.4 Million
To: Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org>
CC: Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org>

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Maryland Settles Discrimination Case by Blind Inmates for $1.4 Million*

*National Federation of the Blind Assisted Blind Inmates Challenging
Disability Discrimination*

*Annapolis, Maryland (June 5, 2019): *Nine current and former Maryland
prison inmates have settled their discrimination lawsuit, *Brown v.
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services*, for $1.4 million in
damages and attorneys’ fees. The Maryland Board of Public Works has just
approved the settlement payment. Under the settlement, the Maryland
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) will modify
prison procedures and provide assistive technology for the blind to comply
with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.

The lawsuit, brought with the assistance of the Baltimore-based National
Federation of the Blind and the Prisoner Rights Information System of
Maryland (PRISM), alleged that DPSCS denied the blind inmates access to
prison jobs, kept them in prison longer, denied them access to prison
programs and information, and put them in danger because of their
disabilities. Specifically, because they were blind, the inmates were
housed at a medium-security prison, even when they were eligible for lower
security or for programs at the state’s 26 other facilities. Blind inmates
were also excluded from the prison work programs that allow prisoners to
learn job skills and earn higher wages and credits off their sentences.

The suit further alleged that the blind prisoners did not have equal access
to prison services and privileges available to other inmates because the
prison communicates with inmates primarily in print, but made no
accommodations for inmates who could not see. The ADA, enacted in 1990,
prohibits discrimination against inmates with vision disabilities and
requires state agencies, including prisons, to ensure “equally effective
communication” with blind and low-vision inmates. The plaintiffs in the
case alleged that the prison’s discrimination denied them the ability to
communicate and endangered their safety. They had to rely on other inmates
to help them navigate prison facilities, read their mail (including
attorney-client communications), read the rules in the inmate handbook, use
the commissary and prison library, file grievances and requests for medical
attention, and more. Not surprisingly, this subjected them to mistreatment
by other inmates, who took advantage of the blind prisoners’ need for help
by extorting money, commissary items, and even sex.

Some of the changes that DPSCS will make under the settlement agreement
include:

   - Setting up computers with text-to-speech screen reader software,
   document scanners, and other assistive technology in the prison library,
   classrooms, and other locations to allow blind prisoners to conduct
   research and read and prepare documents independently;
   - Ensuring that blind inmates have access to qualified human readers and
   scribes who meet certain security and disciplinary criteria; and
   - Providing training for blind inmates in skills that will allow them
   greater independence.

“These blind inmates do not seek special treatment,” said Mark Riccobono,
President of the National Federation of the Blind. “They seek only equal
and independent access to the same facilities, services, and privileges
that are available to other inmates. Lack of that access has not only
denied them their rights but led to a nightmare of extortion, threats, and
violence. We are happy the Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services has agreed to make changes and hope that corrections officials
throughout the nation take note. The National Federation of the Blind will
continue to fight for the rights of our blind brothers and sisters,
including those behind bars.”

*Background: A National Problem*

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics
<https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/dpji1112.pdf>, about 7 percent of
state and federal prisoners have vision disabilities, significantly higher
than the 2 percent of people not in prison. As people age in prison, that
number increases to 15 percent. According to the report “Making Hard Time
Harder”
<https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/reports/making-hard-time-harder/> by
the Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities Project at Disability
Rights Washington, “While prison is hard for everyone, incarceration is
even more challenging for inmates with disabilities. Research shows that
inmates with disabilities are sentenced to an average of fifteen more
months in prison as compared to other inmates with similar criminal
convictions. The time they serve is also harder, with more sanctions
imposed and less access to positive programming than other inmates.”

*Abused, Depressed, and “Frightened All the Time”*

Gregory Hammond, one of the plaintiffs, lost his sight in prison due to
multiple sclerosis. He says of his experiences: “I wanted to work in one of
the vocational shops at the prison to reduce my sentence and learn some
skills for when I got out, but they said blind people weren’t allowed to
work in the shops. They assigned me an inmate walker to guide me around
instead of letting me use a white cane or teaching me how to navigate
myself. Then they made me share a cell with him and he stole from me
because I was blind and couldn’t see my things. He assaulted me because I
bumped into his TV, and I couldn’t defend myself. And I had to depend on
him for everything – going out of my cell, reading mail or rules, writing
medical slips. I even had to pay him to write the medical slip to get help
for the injuries he gave me. But they still would not give me a single
cell. Later, when my MS acted up, no one would write a medical slip for me,
so I was paralyzed in my bed overnight. Inmates I had to pay to read my
mail for me even went after my family. One threatened to hook up with my
mother because, while he was reading my mail, he saw a picture of her.
Another wrote obscene letters to my little sister because he got her
picture and address from reading my mail. I couldn’t ask them to write
grievances about themselves, even if I could have afforded to, and the
computers in the library weren’t accessible for the blind, so I couldn’t do
anything. I was mentally abused and powerless, and it changed me. It made
me depressed. I was scared and frightened all the time. And it's hard to
cope when you are a grown man and you have to depend on someone else,
another inmate, to help you, and he's just taking advantage of you.”

*###*

*About the National Federation of the Blind *

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded
in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the
fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of
blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families
with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We
believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to
transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and
initiatives at www.nfb.org.

*CONTACT:*

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org

Christopher S. Danielsen, J.D.

Director of Public Relations

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

(410) 659-9314, Ext. 2330 | cdanielsen at nfb.org

Twitter: @rlawyer

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>

                         [image: Facebook]
<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>    [image: Twitter]
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>    [image: Youtube]
<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we
work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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Sheri Koch, President
National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia
304-993-5103