Ely State Prison
Encyclopedia
Ely State Prison is a maximum security penitentiary located in unincorporated
White Pine County
, Nevada
, north of Ely
. The facility, operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections
, opened in July 1989. Phase I was completed and opened in August of that year. Phase II was completed in the month of November in 1990. Originally Ely had a capacity of 1,054; as of 2010 its capacity is for 1,150. The prison has a staff of 406 and is a major employer in the Ely area. As of September 2010, the prison housed 1,077 male inmates.
The state's death row
for men is located at Ely State Prison. Executions by the state of Nevada are carried out at Nevada State Prison
.
regarding its alleged failure to provide adequate medical care to its inmates.
Dr. William Noel, a medical expert retained by the ACLU, produced a report in December 2007 that described his review of the medical records of thirty five prisoners from ESP. He wrote that "the medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice
, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering, that I have ever encountered in the medical profession in my thirty-five years of practice."
His report describes in detail the death of Patrick Cavanaugh, an inmate who he claims died due to complications of diabetes, after having received no insulin
for a period of three years and having his ulcerated legs left to fester without treatment or amputation
. The report also mentions accounts of wholly untreated cases of chronic pain
, hepatitis
, fibromyalgia
, rheumatoid arthritis
and syphilis. The report also notes cases in which an epileptic patient was not regularly equipped with a helmet; in which a stroke sufferer was not given any physical therapy nor even an arm brace to prevent the eventual contraction of his affected limb; and in which a patient was switched back to a potentially lethal medication seemingly out of spite on the part of the prescribing doctor.
On January 23, 2008, the ACLU met with the Nevada State Board of Prison Commissioners
seeking a consent decree which would voluntarily have let a federal court oversee prison medical care. Nevada Governor, Jim Gibbons
, and other commissioners were presented with a report by Corrections Director Howard Skolnik and Ely State Prison medical director Dr. Robert Bannister refuting Noel's findings. The commissioners rejected the ACLU's request at this point in time.
On March 6, 2009, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Corrections, Governor Gibbons and other state officials. In it, they sought to have a federal judge find that the Corrections Department had not provided inmates with adequate medical care. The suit was settled in July 2010, with the Nevada Corrections Department agreeing to appoint an independent medical expert to monitor the prison's health care system and to submit regular reports evaluating officials' compliance with various medical requirements. It was also agreed that nurses would make daily rounds at the prison to pick up medical request forms and that inmates would have access to a registered nurse or higher level practitioner within forty eight hours of requesting medical attention.
. This was alleged to be an attempt to psychologically intimidate those transferred, and it has been related that guards escalated tensions by removing prisoners' appliances in violation of protocol and failing to respond to inmate communications.
On January 31, 2010, those imprisoned in Block 4B of the prison retaliated for these perceived abuses by inducing flooding and burning, and interfering with food slots and sprinkler systems, in an attempt to force guards into a confrontation as they tried to extract the riotous inmates from their cells. This conflict over what amounted to sixteen cell extractions left three prisoners badly injured, with one inmate requiring care from an outside hospital due to head trauma. Prisoners report that all guards involved in the altercation received some manner of injury, and that one received a debilitating stab wound.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
White Pine County
White Pine County, Nevada
White Pine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. Its population at the 2010 census was 10,030. Its county seat is Ely. It is the home of Great Basin National Park...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, north of Ely
Ely, Nevada
Ely is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. Ely's mining boom came later than the other towns along US 50, with the discovery of copper in 1906...
. The facility, operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections
Nevada Department of Corrections
The Nevada Department of Corrections is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located in Building 17 in the Stewart Facility in Carson City.-History:...
, opened in July 1989. Phase I was completed and opened in August of that year. Phase II was completed in the month of November in 1990. Originally Ely had a capacity of 1,054; as of 2010 its capacity is for 1,150. The prison has a staff of 406 and is a major employer in the Ely area. As of September 2010, the prison housed 1,077 male inmates.
The state's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
for men is located at Ely State Prison. Executions by the state of Nevada are carried out at Nevada State Prison
Nevada State Prison
Nevada State Prison is a penitentiary located in Carson City. The prison has been in continuous operation since it was established in 1862 and is managed by the Nevada Department of Corrections. It is one of the oldest prisons still operating in the United States. The high security facility housed...
.
Allegations of Inadequate Medical Care and ACLU Lawsuit
Ely State Prison was the recipient of numerous criticisms by the American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
regarding its alleged failure to provide adequate medical care to its inmates.
Dr. William Noel, a medical expert retained by the ACLU, produced a report in December 2007 that described his review of the medical records of thirty five prisoners from ESP. He wrote that "the medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering, that I have ever encountered in the medical profession in my thirty-five years of practice."
His report describes in detail the death of Patrick Cavanaugh, an inmate who he claims died due to complications of diabetes, after having received no insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
for a period of three years and having his ulcerated legs left to fester without treatment or amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. The report also mentions accounts of wholly untreated cases of chronic pain
Chronic pain
Chronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and...
, hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...
, rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
and syphilis. The report also notes cases in which an epileptic patient was not regularly equipped with a helmet; in which a stroke sufferer was not given any physical therapy nor even an arm brace to prevent the eventual contraction of his affected limb; and in which a patient was switched back to a potentially lethal medication seemingly out of spite on the part of the prescribing doctor.
On January 23, 2008, the ACLU met with the Nevada State Board of Prison Commissioners
Nevada Department of Corrections
The Nevada Department of Corrections is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located in Building 17 in the Stewart Facility in Carson City.-History:...
seeking a consent decree which would voluntarily have let a federal court oversee prison medical care. Nevada Governor, Jim Gibbons
Jim Gibbons
Jim Gibbons may refer to:*Jim Gibbons , Republican governor of Nevada*Jim Gibbons , Irish Fianna Fáil politician and government minister...
, and other commissioners were presented with a report by Corrections Director Howard Skolnik and Ely State Prison medical director Dr. Robert Bannister refuting Noel's findings. The commissioners rejected the ACLU's request at this point in time.
On March 6, 2009, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Corrections, Governor Gibbons and other state officials. In it, they sought to have a federal judge find that the Corrections Department had not provided inmates with adequate medical care. The suit was settled in July 2010, with the Nevada Corrections Department agreeing to appoint an independent medical expert to monitor the prison's health care system and to submit regular reports evaluating officials' compliance with various medical requirements. It was also agreed that nurses would make daily rounds at the prison to pick up medical request forms and that inmates would have access to a registered nurse or higher level practitioner within forty eight hours of requesting medical attention.
2010 Prisoner Riot
In November 2009, prisoners report that inmates who had been placed in "Disciplinary Segregation" were strategically moved to wings of Ely State Prison in which they were deliberately surrounded by offenders in protective custody and prisoners suffering from severe mental illnessMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
. This was alleged to be an attempt to psychologically intimidate those transferred, and it has been related that guards escalated tensions by removing prisoners' appliances in violation of protocol and failing to respond to inmate communications.
On January 31, 2010, those imprisoned in Block 4B of the prison retaliated for these perceived abuses by inducing flooding and burning, and interfering with food slots and sprinkler systems, in an attempt to force guards into a confrontation as they tried to extract the riotous inmates from their cells. This conflict over what amounted to sixteen cell extractions left three prisoners badly injured, with one inmate requiring care from an outside hospital due to head trauma. Prisoners report that all guards involved in the altercation received some manner of injury, and that one received a debilitating stab wound.
Notable inmates
| Inmate | Number | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Mack Darren Mack Darren Roy Mack became the subject of an international manhunt in June 2006 after being charged with the stabbing death of his 39-year-old estranged wife, Charla Mack, in the garage of their Reno, Nevada home. Mack was also suspected of, and later charged with, the sniper shooting of Family Court... |
1014861 | Eligible for parole Parole Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their... in 2042 |
Murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... |
| Jeremy Strohmeyer Jeremy Strohmeyer Jeremy Strohmeyer is a Long Beach, California man who molested and murdered 7-year-old South Los Angeles elementary school student Sherrice Iverson at Primadonna Resort and Casino in Primm, Nevada, on May 25, 1997.The case drew national attention by focusing on the safety of children in casinos... |
59389 | Transferred to Lovelock Correctional Center Lovelock Correctional Center Lovelock Correctional Center is a Nevada Department of Corrections prison in unincorporated Pershing County, Nevada, near Lovelock.-History:Lovelock is located in Pershing County and is the seventh major institution of the Nevada Department of Corrections. It was constructed and opened in two... |
Murder |
| Ike Ibeabuchi Ike Ibeabuchi Ikemefula "Ike" Charles Ibeabuchi is a former professional heavyweight boxer who defeated highly ranked contender David Tua and future heavyweight titlist Chris Byrd... Boxer - Undefeated WBC Int Heavy Weight Champion - |
71979 | Next parole hearing 2012 | battery with intent to commit a crime and attempted sexual assault |
See also
- Capital punishment in Nevada
- List of Nevada state prisons
- Nevada Department of CorrectionsNevada Department of CorrectionsThe Nevada Department of Corrections is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located in Building 17 in the Stewart Facility in Carson City.-History:...
External links
- Ely State Prison at the Nevada Department of CorrectionsNevada Department of CorrectionsThe Nevada Department of Corrections is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located in Building 17 in the Stewart Facility in Carson City.-History:...
(Official site) - Coyote Calling: a blog by prison activist Coyote Sheff regarding conditions at E.S.P. and activism in response to them.