Ypsilanti State Representative Jimmie Wilson Jr. wants to form a workgroup to address the conditions of Michigan’s prisons.
Wilson says he recently asked the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman how many inmate fatalities there have been since Heidi Washington became director in 2015. He was told 67 women have died at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility over that time.
Wilson says it appears many of the deaths could have been prevented.
“Not all of it, but some of it looks like medical neglect--sepsis, different things like that. And you kind of wonder what is going on with the medical team or the medical provider that you're contracted with. What is going on with this?”
Three women have died at Huron Valley in the past month. Wilson says he has heard from several fellow legislators who want answers to the conditions in state prisons.
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