Between alleged poor medical care, limited access to legal materials and overcrowding, Hamilton County’s penal system reflects some of the criticisms laid out in a recent audit of Tennessee’s state prisons.
Stories of an untreated broken foot, denied prescription drugs and inconsistent responses to medical requests abound in the county’s downtown jail and Silverdale Correctional Facility. Elsewhere, in Chattanooga’s U.S. District Court, an inmate representing himself claims the guards at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex are hampering his constitutional right to access the law library.
A spokesman for the Hamilton County Jail said medical privacy laws prevent him from commenting on specific cases. As for Bledsoe, the guards constantly weigh a number of security concerns, but they aren’t restricting access to the law library, which is open 37 1/2 hours a week under state policy, a Tennessee Department of Correction spokesman said.
Regardless, many local concerns echo a November audit from the Tennessee Comptroller questioning the correction department’s ability to prepare offenders for re-entry.
One local judge is calling out Silverdale officials concerning their poor medical treatment.State auditors outlined a number of problems at the privately operated Trousdale Turner Correctional Center: “Not enforcing class attendance; inaccurate record-keeping; limited access to grievance, medical, and sick call forms; and underperformed health screenings,” and chalked it up to understaffing.