Three former inmates sue Dauphin County Prison, alleging weeks of near-total darkness, denial of basic needs, and punitive measures against RHU inmates
A scathing lawsuit has been filed against Dauphin County , alleging that inmates at the Dauphin County Prison were kept in near-total darkness for weeks and denied basic human needs at the end of 2023. The suit was filed Tuesday by three men who were incarcerated at the prison and experienced the conditions.The lawsuit specifically highlights alleged mistreatment experienced by people in the prison’s Restricted Housing Unit (RHU), beginning in November of 2023.
People are placed into the Restricted Housing Unit for a number of reasons, the lawsuit says, including rule violations, medical observations and treatment, or if deemed necessary for a person’s safety. That November, the prison started an “escalating campaign of punishment” following reports that people in the Restricted Housing Unit were using synthetic marijuana, the lawsuit says. Tablets were seized from some blocks, leaving inmates without access to religious texts, the law library, handbooks, phone calls or any incoming mail. “The confiscation of the tablets thus shut down all communications for anyone held on the RHU, who, as a result, were unable to contact anyone outside the facility,” according to the lawsuit.The tablets were taken for a minimum of six months, the lawsuit says, though it was up to three months for some. On Nov. 23, personal belongings—including hygiene products, legal paperwork, writing materials, extra clothes, sheets, pillows and blankets—were taken from the inmates in the RHU. The lawsuit claims that some people were later given limited access to hygiene products like toothbrushes, soap and toilet paper, while others never got access to a toothbrush and toothpaste at all. After the personal belongings were taken, people in the RHU were kept in their cells for approximately 10 days, the lawsuit says. Nobody was let out to shower. Following that period, shower access was limited to every other three days, and the bathrooms were found to be filthy with mol
Prison Conditions Lawsuit Restricted Housing Unit Human Rights Dauphin County
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