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Lawsuits Flourish In Northampton County

January 27th, 2009
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Six lawsuits have been filed so far in Allentown’s US District Court on behalf of 30 former or current inmates of Northampton County PA Prison, who claim to have contracted and to have been permanently scarred by the antibiotic-resistant staph infection MRSA as a result of extremely unsavory prison conditions and a lack of appropriate treatment.

Defendants in the suits include Northampton County, PrimeCare Medical Inc. of Harrisburg (the prison’s health-care service), and Corrections Director Todd Buskirk.  Officials have confirmed that a MRSA outbreak did indeed sweep the Northampton County Prison in 2005 …

Water leaks, dirty showers, filthy blankets and cells and an inadequate flow of fresh air have fostered a breeding ground for the illness as far back as 2005, according to the lawsuits. Inmates not being required to shower contributed to the outbreak and their cells were not properly cleaned because prisoners were given dirty mop water that was passed from one cell to another and never drained, the lawsuits say. “‘Mattresses that had been defecated and urinated on were not cleaned or changed between inmates, and instead were quite often left in place for the next inmate’s use,” according to suits filed by attorney Gerald J. Williams in Philadelphia.

vericatrajkova Inmate Health, Inmate Lawsuits, PA Northampton County

Daily Sweep 8/22

August 22nd, 2008
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vericatrajkova IN Floyd County, Overcrowding, PA Northampton County, Probation and Parole, Rhode Island

Daily Sweep 080324

March 24th, 2008
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  • Warden John King
  • Deal in Westchester County dispute over Islamic meals.
  • Georgia DOC’s plan to move headquarters criticized as “boondoggle“.
  • There is an interesting outside opinion on the lack of volunteer opportunities at the county jail in Northampton PA, and how this negatively affects recidivism.
  • 26-year department veteran John King has been appointed as the Warden of Bayport Prison in Minnesota.
  • A Bill to bring private prisons under state control has stalled in the Arizona legislature.

vericatrajkova Arizona, CCA, Food Services, Georgia, Minnesota, NY Westchester County, PA Northampton County, Private Prisons, Religious Issues

Northampton County Jail Looking To Spread

February 21st, 2008
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Hoping to stem the already-crowded prison population and provide more programs to inmates, Northampton County Executive John Stoffa is looking to locate a correctional facility for work-release inmates in the Bethlehem area. But he wants to keep the details secret right now.

Stoffa described the project as in its ”infancy” stage and declined to confirm the township as a possible site. ”I don’t want to jeopardize the project,” Stoffa said. ”When we’ve had full disclosure, we’ve been crucified. No one wants this in their back yard.” Nearly four months ago, Glendon Borough Council shot down the county’s first choice for putting the facility at the Glendon Business Center, bordering on Interstate 78 … That proposal was for 180 minimum-security prisoners in a work-release, halfway house program. The program would have served prisoners charged with such offenses as drunken driving, writing bad checks and failing to make child support payments, county officials said.

The main county jail is already crowded beyond capacity.

The goal is to alleviate crowding at the county prison in Easton and provide more education to inmates. County officials argue the work-release facility could save taxpayers money by lowering the repeat rate of offenders, plus a ‘’soft bed” facility is cheaper to operate than adding more beds at the county prison. Stoffa said in October that the prison is adding 200 inmates a year, and if the pace holds steady for five years, the prison population will double. The prison is designed for 819 inmates, but regularly houses more than 900, and its $24 million expansion was already full by the time it opened in April 2007.

Stoffa says the proposed center indicates a complete change in strategy.

”In the jail, we basically warehouse people. These are people full of energy and testosterone, and we don’t do much but warehouse them,” Stoffa said. ”We’ve got to change our philosophy, and [the proposed facility] would be an educational center, not a warehouse.” The center would include classes on parenthood, job training and other programs aimed at getting prisoners to rejoin society.

Get the full story from The Morning Call.

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