Lawsuit Filed Against Alaska Department of Corrections Over Longstanding Lack of Proper Health Care

The Alaska Department of Corrections is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) over decades of abysmal health care for incarcerated individuals in Alaska. The ACLU is teaming up with the ACLU National Prison Project to challenge the DOC’s neglect in providing adequate, safe, and humane healthcare, deeming it a violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. The lawsuit aims to draw attention to the unnecessary suffering, deterioration, and fatalities resulting from the state’s healthcare negligence.

The lawsuit is the culmination of a long-term inquiry into the dire state of physical, mental, and dental healthcare in Alaska’s prison and jail facilities. The extensive investigation highlights a pressing need for immediate reform in the DOC’s healthcare system. Megan Edge, the Prison Project Director for the ACLU of Alaska, emphasizes the dependency of thousands of incarcerated Alaskans on the DOC for essential health services, which are often belated and inadequate, leading to devastating consequences. State authorities have been aware of these brutal and unconstitutional conditions for years but have not taken significant strides to rectify the situation.

Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy’s proposed state budget for 2025 allocated $481 million to the DOC, yet this mounting budget has not translated into improved conditions or healthcare for inmates. Nancy Rosenbloom, a Senior Litigation Advisor at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, condemns the deplorable medical care in Alaskan prisons, denoting it as one of the worst in the nation. The lawsuit aims to shed light on the heart-wrenching and unconstitutional medical neglect that incarcerated individuals endure, violating their constitutional rights.

Testimonies from incarcerated individuals portray harrowing stories of healthcare deficiencies within Alaska’s prisons. One tragic scenario involves an incarcerated woman slipping into a diabetic coma due to untreated diabetes after enduring excruciating pain without medical intervention. Another account narrates an incarcerated man’s journey from a chronic illness to the pre-stages of colon cancer, exacerbated by DOC’s poor disease management. In a different instance, an incarcerated man’s untreated cataracts led to severe vision impairment, rendering him incapable of navigating his surroundings or attending to his health issues effectively.

The lawsuit against the Alaska DOC seeks to address the longstanding medical inadequacies within the state’s correctional facilities, advocating for the constitutional rights and welfare of incarcerated individuals. If successful, the legal action could potentially instigate a much-needed transformation in the DOC’s healthcare protocols, safeguarding the health and well-being of thousands of Alaskans currently under its care.