Henry County inmates file lawsuit: Allege jail overcrowded, bad living conditions

They are suing Henry County Sheriff Ric McCorkle, all three Henry County Commissioners and the Henry County Council.  When contacted Tuesday about the lawsuit, McCorkle declined to comment.

Henry County recently began steps to move forward with a Criminal Justice Needs Assessment, which will determine what changes may be needed to improve the overall performance of the county's criminal justice system. That would include the Henry County Jail. 

A news release from the law firm states, "The Henry County jail, located in New Castle, Indiana, has been overcrowded and understaffed for several years. With small, dark, damp, tightly-packed cells, Henry County Jail is practically a dungeon."

The release alleges that some inmates sleep on jail floors and that sewage runs from overflowing and leaking toilets. 

"The overcrowded condition is unconstitutional when the sheriff cannot assure the inmates of their safety, when inmates do not get regular health care, when inmates do not have meaningful recreation or activity outside their cells, and when severe overcrowding could lead to the spread of infectious or contagious diseases," the release said. "The situation has become intolerable and these plaintiffs, on behalf of a class of inmates, have sued the sheriff in attempt to remedy the conditions." 

"They are seeking to have a federal judge declare the jail to be unconstitutional in its current operation, to enjoin the jail from housing inmates above its designed capacity and to find that the inmates in the jail are deserving of damages because of their suffering under the unconstitutional conditions," the release continued.

Tuesday afternoon, all inmates except Heinrich remained incarcerated at Henry County Jail, according to jail staff. 

Online court records indicate Heinrich has a pending case for charges of alleged possession of meth and paraphernalia. Taylor is facing a charge for allegedly dealing meth. Mullins' pending court case is for charges of alleged dealing in a schedule 3 controlled substance and maintaining a common nuisance. Kent's pending charge is for alleged child molestation and Baker's is for alleged criminal confinement, domestic battery and two counts of rape. 

In the lawsuit, Henrich alleged that she shared a three-person cell with five inmates, which forced her to sleep on a plastic mat on the floor, and that the floor and ceiling of her cell had mold growing on it. 

Like Henrich, Taylor claims he was forced to share a cell with too many inmates and sleep on the floor. Taylor also alleges that water leaks from the ceiling of his cell, and from under the toilet. 

Mullins claims she has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Stage II emphysema and asthma, which are aggravated by the mold and mildew in her cell, the lawsuit states. She also alleges she was forced to go three days without toilet paper. 

Kent also claims he was forced to sleep on the floor, and suffers from blisters and skin discoloration due to unsanitary cell conditions. He claims he was forced to sleep naked in a padded cell and could only use a shower drain to urinate. 

Baker alleges he was also forced to sleep naked in a padded cell, has not been permitted to use the outside recreation area since April and and has slept on a moldy mat for 115 days.  

The lawsuit also claims that jail grievances are regularly ignored by correctional officers, and that overcrowding has created tension among the inmates and fights and assaults are common among both men and women.

"Plaintiffs and the class have suffered, and will continue to suffer, irreparable and immediate harm until such time as the court orders the Henry County Jail closed and replaced, or substantially remodeled," the lawsuit states. 

No court dates for the lawsuit were available at presstime Tuesday.