A Court has agreed with ACLU-WV’s arguments that a number of documents relating to the state’s COVID-19 plan in correctional facilities be made publicly available.
ACLU-WV filed a motion to intervene in an ongoing federal civil case – Baxley v. Jividen – earlier this month to request that the plan, held under seal at the time, be made public, along with eight other documents relating to the plan that were also held under seal.
Shortly after ACLU-WV filed to intervene, the state released a partially redacted copy of the plan. Other documents ACLU-WV had requested remained under seal at the time.
The judge’s order today unsealed most of the remaining documents, including:
- The redacted COVID_19 response plan
- Affidavits from state corrections officials relating to COVID-19 in jails and prisons
- Headcounts of adult inmates in the state’s custody
- Affidavit’s from plaintiffs’ expert in the case providing an analysis of the State’s plan and implementation of that plan
“This is a win for transparency,” said ACLU-WV Legal Director Loree Stark. “The Division of Corrections has tried to keep a lot of this information under lock and key. We’re thankful the judge disagreed and ordered almost everything that we asked for to be unsealed.
“The First Amendment affords the public a presumptive right to court records,” Stark said. “These documents will hopefully give the loved ones of incarcerated individuals some insight into how the state intends to keep the people in its custody safe from infection of this deadly disease.”
ACLU-WV continues to call on the state to release as many inmates and prisoners as possible to help avoid the spread of the virus in these overcrowded and unsanitary facilities. Numerous correctional facilities around the country have become hotspots for infection.