Six former inmates claim in a federal lawsuit that Maryland’s prison system fails to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Baltimore Sun cited allegations in the the lawsuit on Tuesday that included prison guards making a one-legged man walk into the showers with no support.
The case was filed in October in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The inmates allege a culture of noncompliance with the ADA and indifference by prison guards. The inmates are suing the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and a number of prison officials.
The Attorney General’s Office is defending the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services along with its employees. A spokeswoman declined to comment to The Sun, citing the ongoing nature of the case.
The suit was filed before more than two dozen corrections officers were charged last week with running a “criminal enterprise” inside the state’s prisons. Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office alleged that guards assaulted inmates and retaliated against those who spoke out.
Allen Honick, an attorney who is representing the plaintiffs, said the civil suit and criminal charges involving Maryland’s prisons illustrate a deeper problem with state’s corrections system.
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