Sick Inside: Death and Neglect in US Jails | Fault Lines

Jail deaths have surged in almost two dozen US states over the last decade. There have been steady increases in mortality rates involving complications from existing medical conditions.
Jailers often have few resources to treat medical or psychological conditions. So, counties are increasingly hiring for-profit healthcare contractors to fill the medical needs of their inmates.
Contractors like Corizon and NaphCare say they offer premium healthcare but critics allege that these companies cut corners to turn a profit, and point to their records.
"When you combine the profit motive with a literally captive market of unpopular people, it's a recipe for bad outcomes and, often, lethal outcomes," David Fathi of the ACLU National Prison Project says.
Corizon has nearly 200,000 inmates under its care and has been sued more than a thousand times over its quality of care.
In Sick Inside, Fault Lines speaks to the parents of Madaline Pitkin, a woman who died of dehydration in an Oregon jail under the care of Corizon in 2014. In an exclusive interview, a former Corizon employee who worked in that jail, talked about the company's practices that led her to resign.
"I was concerned for my medical license," former Corizon employee Cris Rettler told Fault Lines. "There were several times when we had some pretty near misses."
After Madaline's death, the jail hired another company called NaphCare. We investigate NaphCare's history of negligence in Nevada by speaking with a woman whose husband died of complications with diabetes while in NaphCare's care in 2018.
In both jails, we talk to the sheriffs and ask why they continue to hire these companies. According to campaign finance records, both sheriffs have taken thousands of dollars in political contributions from NaphCare.
Fault Lines investigates the $12bn industry of correctional healthcare and asks what is lost when a county hires a for-profit medical company to care for its inmates.
#jaildeaths #USjails #UShealth
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[@LeonFelixRusso]

So, the sheriff that accepted a $10,000 'donation' from a provider is the person who decides which tenderer gets the contract. That's corruption straight up and down. Sheriff Darin Balaam of Washoe County, Nevada needs to be investigated.

[@ryarbrough1000]

If the outside world only knew how mistreated and underfed and beaten the inmates in the US were treated

[@lizimpey6338]

The private companies of the American penal system make HUGE profits and care for the inmates is poor so less costs mean bigger pay cheques to these companies. I am not talking about treating prisoners like they are on holiday. It’s about providing discipline with decent living standards.

[@fX-rd3dn]

Al Jazeera has the best investigative documentaries, no wonder the channel is no longer available in the US

[@craftycriminalistwithms.z3053]

I’m in the US and still get the channel.

[@cruzan8183]

Inmates are not treated like humans. Simple medications could have saved her. Profit should be removed from corrections. Every system is designed to give you the results that you obtain.

[@andreabl15188]

This is so sad and so evil!!! My heart breaks for these people and their families. Prayers for all of them 💕🙏

[@soundbite290]

Either way for profit, or not, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the entire system. Governments and financial interests perpetuate a denial of drug users, who very often are self medicating due to underlying untreated genuine medical health illness. Easier, cheaper to declare an addict, than treat medical illness. Withdrawals compounded by resurfacing symptoms due illness, cannot be treated without complete thorough, accurate diagnosis including scans first. These lawsuits, over 1000 wrongful deaths, all with confidentiality agreements, so the truth never comes to light, and they can continue to kill people legally. An ill person is an expense to keep and treat, private companies or not.

[@rebekahhakeber5093]

Illinois - 25,000 annually per inmate BUT Family has to provide tampons ffs. Put drug people in rehab Put sick people in hospitals Put politicians inside the jails

[@Zahiri301]

America is not for poor people to live.

[@craigslistseller9354]

Henry Kissinger's goal of depopulation is being achieved.

[@tiffanylaserna1288]

Madaline: I haven't been able to eat or drink for 6 days, I'm close to death, please help me! For-profit company: She probably just needs to sleep it off, no need to check on her.

[@basilahmed4575]

Have known many people killed in both prison and even jail. They have been killed by other inmates, correctional officers and not getting simple medications needed to live. Bottom line is your life expectancy gets cut to about 30% if you get arrested and taken off especially here on the west coast. R. I. P Joe Mason, Carlos padashio, Sam Gentry, Tobias Kwan, Nate Severn all people I knew killed in prison and jail before they were 35.

[@maxasaurus3008]

Man that guy in the Dodgers cap was perfect, no bull, no whining, these companies are killing folk. 🤬

[@sailoranandgardener]

Al-Jazeera, please make one program of conditions in Jail of Qatar also, the world's well known Jahaliya.

[@scorpiosong1836]

So sad...everything now for profit.. how ironic human become so advance as we claim to be ,but where's humanity now?

[@user-qr2tf8vl4k]

I'm not surprised at all. This makes me sad.

[@noirto2]

Not to mention we used inmate for cheap labors, they are sent out as firefighters and various food processing jobs all the time at almost no pay.

[@bjmartin6684]

noir, they need to do something other than just sitting around. At least they not doing hard labor like being on the chain gang back in the day.

[@noirto2]

@@bjmartin6684 except they use that fact not to provide proper health and hygiene care. They have shop in prison where the prisoner pay to get noodle and soap...

[@purpur7187]

It is not profitable for commercial prisons to treat, save and alleviate the suffering of prisoners. For them, this is an extra expense, they will receive less profit.

[@coms2]

Yeah, you get rid of the for profit model.

[@melaniep694]

When i worked for the Allegheny county controllers office we conducted an audit of corizon at our jail. This was 15 years ago and corizon already had 1500 wrongful death suits. Easier to pay people off because they are dripping money. In the flipside i am also in recovery. In 2007 i was sent to daf in delray beach to detox from 120 mgs of methadone. I was sent there by a halfway house because the owner said that if i did not come off of the methadone in a week and complete the daf detox i would be homeless. My dr at the methadone clinic advised the owner that this was not medically appropriate and hence i was sent by the owner to a county run detox. Keep in mind that i am ivy league educated with sn ma but i am also a clean addict today. Anyhow upon being admitted the tech told me i was pregnant. Consequently the dr took me off all of my meds including then120 mgs of methadone saying dont you want to be clean for your baby. Also not medical protocol. Needless to say my baby died at one month old from sids. I was clean during my pregnancy. Addicts are treated like subhumans.

[@mauijane420]

AJ- Want to SHOW us how Middle Eastern jails handle prisoners going through drug withdrawl? OR Sick prisoners? How about just showing us inside a few jails over there? Go ahead. You want to criticize American jails-SHOW us your NICEST prison over there. I'm sure everyone watching would choose ANY U.S. prison over the BEST prison in the Mid.East.

[@craftycriminalistwithms.z3053]

The US (my country as well) should be setting the standard of which every one else can build off of if they so choose. That’s the price leaders pay, especially when we justify wars by saying we are bringing them democracy and freedom of chose.

[@christopherjames375]

That's disgracefully. DUTY OF CARE THEPRISON WAS FULLY RESPONSIBLE .SHAME ON YOU .

[@TheThisisliving]

Another thank you to George Bush Jr. ....Enron, Iraq, The jailing of Americans.

[@Metaphix]

Still waiting on a series about the working conditions in Qatar for migrant workers lol

[@robertgowdey]

Even nonprofit county you don't receive the proper health care.

[@khalidupdy5207]

They say we are in a modern century were profit is priority

[@marym1053]

So sad, these people matter to their families. Get rid of "for profit". It's a gateway to misuse of resources and inadequate staffing. Jesus said in the last days the love of many would grow cold. He also said if we care for the least of these we care for Him. Unspeakable injustice. Thank God for the ones speaking up about this terrible system.

[@bumblebee2956]

What you expect from a country....doesn’t even have basic healthcare for citizens

[@jasondrummond9451]

Actually, Quatar provides comprehensive health care of high quality to all citizens.

[@snowbound4193]

10k LOL!!!!!!! SICKINING! RESIGN!!!!!!!

[@marktrinidad7650]

Al Jazeera should focus more on China and Uighurs. and not these American problems.

[@sappydoll5566]

It’s an American journalist whom speciality is in American topics

[@WAAA51]

Americans can fix wrong doings. China cannot because the CCP is God and God cannot do wrong. Dumb statement

[@thekaerichtexas]

I worked at a jail.... And yes the medical care is terrible. At my workplace they will see the inmates but its never a "rush". Yes the inmates lie and play games but better to err on the side of them telling the truth than think they are lying and then something bad happens. And private prison is 1000x worse. But you also have to realize these ppl abuse their body with drugs and then want all this care when they get to the jail.....well if u use hard drugs everyday then go without it for 5 days....you body starts to react and go crazy. Some ppl are just unhealthy, overweight, diabetic and whatnot so their are natural deaths but alot of it can be prevented....some of it cannot. Families always want to see the facility but don't realize most have abuse their own body and caused their own decline

[@mauijane420]

AJ- Want to SHOW us how Middle Eastern jails handle prisoners going through drug withdrawl? OR Sick prisoners? How about just showing us inside a few jails over there? Go ahead. You want to criticize American jails-SHOW us your NICEST prison over there. I'm sure everyone watching would choose ANY U.S. prison over the BEST prison in the Mid.East.

[@Himijendrix014]

2 wrongs don't make a right, why are you offended by this?