Tillery v. Owens

• Decision Date: 08 September 1989
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 87-1537.
• Citation: 719 F. Supp. 1256
• Parties: Major TILLERY, Victor Hassine, Kenneth Davenport, William Grandison, Nelson Charles Mikesell, and Ellis W. Matthews, Jr., Plaintiffs, v. David OWENS, Jr., in his official capacity as the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, George Petsock, in his official capacity as the Superintendent of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh, and Arnold Snitzer, M.D., in his official capacity as a member of medical staff of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

719 F. Supp. 1256

Major TILLERY, Victor Hassine, Kenneth Davenport, William Grandison, Nelson Charles Mikesell, and Ellis W. Matthews, Jr., Plaintiffs, v. David OWENS, Jr., in his official capacity as the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, George Petsock, in his official capacity as the Superintendent of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh, and Arnold Snitzer, M.D., in his official capacity as a member of medical staff of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 87-1537.

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania.

August 15, 1989.

As Amended September 8, 1989.

Jere Krakoff, Ed Koren, Nat. Prison Project, American Civil Liberties Union, Michael Antol, Neighborhood Legal Services, Edward Feinstein, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiffs.

Kenneth J. Benson, Deputy Atty. Gen., for defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND OPINION

COHILL, Chief Judge.

                                    TABLE OF CONTENTS
                    I. INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1259
                   II. THE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AT PITTSBURGH .......... 1260
                  III. STATE PRISONERS AND THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION ........ 1260
                       A. The Role of the Courts ................................. 1260
                       B. The Scope of the Court's Authority ..................... 1261
                   IV. OVERCROWDING .............................................. 1262
                       A. Findings of Fact ....................................... 1262
                

                          1. Synopsis ............................................ 1262
                          2. Description of Facilities ........................... 1262
                          3. Environmental Conditions ............................ 1264
                             a. Generally ........................................ 1264
                             b. Cleaning Supplies ................................ 1264
                             c. Mattresses ....................................... 1265
                             d. Ventilation ...................................... 1265
                             e. Lighting ......................................... 1265
                             f. Plumbing ......................................... 1266
                             g. Shower Facilities ................................ 1266
                          4. Effects of Overcrowding ............................. 1267
                             a. Double-celling ................................... 1267
                             b. Recreational Facilities........................... 1268
                             c. Dining, Laundry Service and Clothing Supplies .... 1269
                       B. Legal Analysis.......................................... 1269
                          1. Cell Size ........................................... 1270
                          2. Cell Conditions ..................................... 1271
                             a. Ventilation ...................................... 1271
                             b. Lighting ......................................... 1271
                             c. Sanitation ....................................... 1271
                          3. Showers.............................................. 1271
                          4. Food Service ........................................ 1272
                          5. Time in Cell......................................... 1272
                          6. Double-Celling ...................................... 1272
                       C. Remedy.................................................. 1273
                    V. INMATE SECURITY ........................................... 1274
                       A. Findings of Fact........................................ 1274
                       B. Legal Analysis.......................................... 1275
                       C. Remedy.................................................. 1277
                   VI. FIRE SAFETY ............................................... 1277
                       A. Findings of Fact ....................................... 1277
                       B. Legal Analysis ......................................... 1279
                       C. Remedy ................................................. 1280
                  VII. ACCESS TO THE COURTS....................................... 1280
                       A. Findings of Fact........................................ 1280
                       B. Legal Analysis.......................................... 1281
                       C. Remedy.................................................. 1284
                 VIII. HEALTH CARE................................................ 1284
                       A. Findings of Fact........................................ 1284
                          1. Mental Health ....................................... 1284
                             a. Psychiatric Staff ................................ 1284
                             b. Psychological Staff .............................. 1285
                             c. Psychiatric Nurses................................ 1285
                             d. Psychiatric Social Workers ....................... 1285
                             e. Recommendations................................... 1286
                             f. General Conditions Affecting Psychiatric Care .... 1286
                             g. Specific Conditions Affecting Psychiatric Care ... 1288
                          2. Medical Services .................................... 1290
                             a. Staffing ......................................... 1290
                             b. Medical Services Requirements .................... 1292
                                1) Administration................................. 1292
                                2) Intake Evaluation ............................. 1294
                                3) Sick Call ..................................... 1294
                                4) Specialty Care................................. 1295
                                5) Infirmary Care ................................ 1295
                                6) Medications ................................... 1296
                                7) Emergency Services ............................ 1297
                                8) Miscellaneous Services ........................ 1297
                             c. Specific Medical Cases ........................... 1298
                          3. Dental Services ..................................... 1301
                

                       B. Legal Analysis.......................................... 1301
                       C. Rx...................................................... 1302
                          1. Psychiatric Services................................. 1302
                          2. Medical Services..................................... 1304
                          3. Dental Services...................................... 1309
                   IX. PRISON MONITOR ............................................ 1309
                    X. CONCLUSION ................................................ 1309
                

I. INTRODUCTION

This Section 1983¹ class action challenges the constitutionality of the conditions of confinement at the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh ("SCIP") located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (often referred to locally as "Western Penitentiary"). Plaintiffs are inmates at SCIP. Defendants, officials employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in various capacities, are generally responsible for operating SCIP.

We began this inquiry on May 3, 1989, with an unannounced and comprehensive four-hour tour of the SCIP facility, accompanied by SCIP officials, the parties' attorneys and two of the named inmate plaintiffs. We then conducted a bench trial from May 4 to June 8, 1989, during which 42 witnesses testified and over 600 documents were admitted into evidence. All parties were zealously represented by well-qualified counsel who performed admirably throughout.

Based on the evidence, and our own first-hand observations, we find that nearly every aspect of SCIP which we consider here is inadequate, falling far below constitutional standards. In fact, crediting the opinions of the expert witnesses who testified, particularly those of the fire protection engineer, medical doctor and penologist retained by plaintiffs, we might very well order that SCIP be closed immediately; it is an overcrowded, unsanitary, and understaffed fire trap. We are painfully aware, however, and take judicial notice, that there is nowhere else in the Commonwealth to house these inmates.

The appellate court cases in this area continuously warn the district courts to avoid judicial incursions into the day-to-day administration of penal institutions. See e.g., Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 562, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 1886, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979).

We believe that in the lengthy findings and Opinion which follow here we will elude this pitfall by placing the burden on the parties to create their own solutions to the unconstitutional conditions at SCIP.

We likewise are aware that the enormity of the problems will not permit easy, quick or inexpensive solutions. Therefore, it is our intention to attempt here to erect constitutional guideposts for the parties. Defendants will then be given until December 1, 1989 to devise a plan for bringing SCIP into constitutional compliance in cooperation with both counsel for plaintiffs and a prison monitor to be appointed by the Court.

We will first attempt to describe the SCIP facilities, next recite the legal standards governing our review of the conditions of confinement and finally determine this Court's authority to order remedial measures. The remainder of the Opinion sets forth our findings of fact and conclusions of law, as required by Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and attempts to plant the constitutional guideposts for the consideration of the parties.

II. THE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AT PITTSBURGH

SCIP, an antiquated correctional facility more than 100 years old, was built on the banks of the Ohio River on approximately 14 acres of land within the City of Pittsburgh. A maximum security prison, it houses serious offenders serving terms from two years to life or sentenced to death. The prison is a complex of numerous large buildings surrounded by a stone wall measuring approximately 30 feet high and 4 to 5 feet thick.

The main facilities housing inmates are the cavernous North and South cell blocks. The North Block was constructed in 1882 and the South Block in 1888.

The Rotunda, a circular building, connects the North and South Blocks. It houses SCIP administration offices, inmate storage rooms, a records storage area, and an employee dining facility....