Years-long lawsuit filed by disabled Georgia inmates appears closer to settlement
Settlement discussions for a 2018 class-action lawsuit filed against the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles were held on May 8, marking an effort to resolve the seven-year litigation.
Discussions about settling the lawsuit have taken place since 2019, with no resolutions shown in federal court records.
Inmates Ricardo Harris, Tommy Green, Christopher Shields, Darrell Smith Jr., Jorae Smith, Andrew Smith and Mark Birdow, who were housed in various prisons in Middle Georgia, filed their lawsuit in Macon federal court in October 2018. They alleged they’ve experienced administrative discrimination because they can’t communicate with officials, which has set them back in the prison system and violates their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The group said that because of their disabilities, they’ve been unable to take the required classes for prerelease from prison or their General Educational Development certification, according to the complaint.
The group had also been denied interpreters, telecommunications designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and hearing aids.
“Without sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services, Plaintiffs experience a range of harms while incarcerated,” the group’s lawsuit said. “Plaintiffs have no information about the prison’s rules and procedures because orientation and related communication events are not accessible. When deaf and hard of hearing inmates then fail to follow the unexplained rules and procedures, Defendants subject them to disciplinary hearings.”
“At the disciplinary hearings, they are not only further denied sign language interpreters or other auxiliary aids and services needed to understand why they are there, but they are also routinely handcuffed behind their backs, so they cannot even gesture or write notes in their own defense,” the complaint said.
Without the ability to communicate, they felt isolated, which would make them more likely to serve longer sentences and be denied access to parole and early release, the lawsuit says. They were also denied health care, as they were unable to communicate serious and life-threatening health conditions.
State agencies say problems have been fixed
According to the GDC and the Board of Paroles and Pardons, the violations alleged in the lawsuit had been addressed prior to the lawsuit being filed. After an investigation by the Department of Justice around 2016 that pointed out the ADA violations within the prison system, the organizations implemented changes and expanded resources to comply with the ADA, according to court records.
As a result of the investigation by the DOJ, the agencies:
- Changed revisions to GDC policies, practices and procedures
- Hired a statewide ADA coordinator and ADA coordinators in each facility
- Provided extensive ADA training to GDC employees and contractors
- Updated the technologies available for deaf and hard-of-hearing inmates
In that vein, the agencies said they were open to settlement negotiations but needed clarification from the plaintiffs about their goal for the lawsuit.
“In view of the substantial investment and changes already made by the GDC, and the lack of specific requests for relief in Plaintiff’s complaint, Defendants are unsure what relief Plaintiffs seek that GDC is not already doing,” it said.
The Telegraph has reached out to the attorneys for both parties and has not received a response prior to publication.
Inmates say Georgia kept violating ADA
Since the GDC replied to the lawsuit, both the GDC and the injured, deaf and hard-of-hearing plaintiffs have unsuccessfully gone back and forth attempting to settle the lawsuit.
In 2023, the group of inmates who filed the lawsuit asked a judge to declare that the GDC and the Board of Paroles and Pardons violated the ADA. They said the GDC makes a minimum required effort of care toward deaf and hard of hearing people at the prisons, and they are still not given “an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from GDC’s and P&P’s programs, services and activities,” the plaintiffs said in their request.
“The undisputed record (of) evidence discussed in this brief shows that Defendants have repeatedly and systemically failed to provide deaf and hard of hearing people with equally effective communication and equal access to specific aspects of prison life,” the plaintiffs argued.
The GDC and the Board of Pardons and Paroles challenged the accusation, alleging in court records that “no basis exists for any judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on claims or issues” since they already comply with the ADA, according to court records.
Instead of issuing a decision on the request, the judge ordered the groups to meet in federal court in Atlanta twice a month, starting last year, to try to resolve the suit. Court records show that a resolution is yet to be reached.
An upcoming settlement hearing will be held on May 19 and May 20.
