SHUT DOWN GREENE COUNTY, TN JAIL & WORKHOUSE FOR ROUTINELY VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS

Greene County Detention Center (Jail) is quite possibly the worst in the country with prisoners committing suicide and the jail routinely failing DCI inspections and losing certification. That is because the jail is over 100 years old and could never comply with current state regulations.
There have been 38 lawsuits filed in District Court against the Sheriff with most regarding the deplorable jail conditions.
A class action law suit was filed regarding the conditions in the women’s jail and all have been dismissed because the District Court is located in Greeneville and the Judges refuse to recuse themselves. The attorney who was consulted to take the case, Tony G. Lee, Jr. mysteriously died of a heart attack less than a month after being consulted.
Corrections officers routinely violate prisoner’s rights and have created a system of abuse through ignorance and lack of sanitation. Some of the human rights violations and complaints from prisoners are:

1. Overcrowding occurs regularly with no individual pods for women. Over 30 women in a pod crammed into approximately 22 beds.
2. There was only one shower for over 30 women. A violation of State of Tennessee Rule 1400-1-.04 paragraph 7.
3. There were over four women forced to sleep on the floor in each cel. There were only 8 beds but 12 women cell E-4.
4. Lice infested, no lice combs given, only toxic pesticide shampoos given.
5. No socks given, only shower thongs.
6. Mice were coming up through drain in women’s shower.
7. Mattress pads were thin ¼ -½ inch thick.
8. Women weren’t given any outdoor time or exercise area and were forced to stay locked in a small area without any fresh air or sunlight for months at a time. When they were allowed out, it was at odd hours like 6am.
9. No soap or shampoo given except a packet of toxic chemicals because of claims that prisoners were using bars of soap as a weapon, yet jail personnel had no problem passing out razors.
10. Family members were not allowed to donate books to the library because they claimed people were smuggling in drugs in books, when all they had to do was flip through the books.
11. The court is charging prisoners $15 a day to stay in jail for drug use instead of putting them into a rehabilitation program. Over 90% of the prisoners were in there for drug use. There is no mental health assistance for prisoners with psychiatric issues, which Petitioner estimates accounts for at least half of the population.
12. Prisoners are literally being starved to death and inmates are spending 25-$50 a week on commissary food with no actual healthy food available to purchase. Greene County is estimated to be making over $100,000 a year on commissary.  Diet consisted of: Breakfast 5am : gravy, non-fat watered down milk, 8oz, two slices of bread, spoiled mandarins and one boiled egg. Lunch: 10:30am 2 slices of wheat bread and one slice cheese and one 2x2 in. white cake. Dinner: Powdered milk if you could call it that mostly water, beans, spoiled collard greens, 2 slices bread.
13. The temperature inside the cels’ were freezing cold at around 40-50 Degrees and inmates are only given a short sleeve jumpsuit to wear with thongs one blanket and one sheet.
a. Visitors are forced to visit through glass they can’t see or hear the other side, even when they are non-violent.
14. In order to visit or to write to a prisoner, a prisoner has to put the person on visitation list which how would they know someone wanted to visit them in the first place if they can‘t contact them?
15. No bottled water for sale or given out. Tap water contains poisons of toxic sodium fluoride, chlorine and arsenic, the same chemical formulation that was alleged by John Kerry to have been used to gas the Syrians.
16. Only two tables that seat 4 people each for 30+ females and one television with nowhere to sit and watch.  There are no tables in F pod and inmates are forced to eat on the floor.
17. There is black mold growing on the showers and walls. The mold had been painted over and black mold was still coming through. Only one shower and two toilets for 30 inmates in F Pod.
18. Several Prisoners had sinus problems related to mold exposure, nutritionally deficient diet and poisonous water.
19. The overcrowding and unsanitary conditions led to increased illnesses with no proper cleaning sprays.
20. No access to a clock so inmates could prepare for court or other appointments.
21. No access to law books or library for inmates to assist them in preparing for court or to conduct research.
22. Prisoners had witnessed another girl who was brought in a few weeks prior to Petitioner who had overdosed and was foaming at the mouth. Instead of taking her to the hospital, prison staff put her in the drunk tank.
23. Toilets are placed in direct line with the beds so you have no privacy when going to the bathroom and other inmates can see your private parts.
24. Fluorescent lights are left on all day and all night long creating an unhealthy environment.
25. No access to a doctor or naturopathic Doctor. Doctor only comes on Mondays.
26. No posted menu as they aren’t following it anyways and don’t want any evidence showing the prisoners that.
27. Staff is inattentive to prisoner’s needs and is not doing checks every hour as State of Tennessee rules state.
28. Bunk beds are unsafe with no guard rail on top and top bunk is hard to get to with no ladder or assistance to get up there.
29. Violation of 1400-1-.10 section 8 as there are only two benches that seat 4 people each so almost all prisoners must eat at their bunk bed.
30. Ice chest in cel unsanitary as prisoners dip dirty cups into it.
31. Complete violation of 1400-1-.12
32. No library services, I was told we could donate books and magazines, but jail personal said all library services had been discontinued because they claimed drugs were being smuggled in books! Well then they should check them.
33. Phone service hours were not posted and there was no privacy.
34. No outdoor light or access to exercise at all. State of Tennessee Rule in Paragraph 2 in .12
35. Complete violation of rules 1400-1-.15 as prisoners are being denied soap, TP, unacceptable footwear, no socks, no comb per paragraph 2 and instead are being told that someone had used it as a weapon so they had to take it away, yet they are being given sodas in plastic bottles that can also be used as weapons and no access to bottled water.
36. Also paragraph 5 says inmates are to have a mattress in good repair. The mattresses are under ½” thick and blankets were torn leaving inmates to freeze to death.
37. Inmates are supposed to have access to a phone. However, you need to have a pin number in order to use the pay phone. CO’s routinely did not give a pin number. Access to the phone is limited as the phone was never turned on for numerous days and times.
38. The Television was left blaring loud and the spot lights were left on all night long until 5:00am which is a well-documented CIA torture technique. This is not an isolated incident and there have been numerous complaints about guards at the Greene County Detention Center (GCDC) doing this in the men’s side. In case 2:08: cv-00244, the petitioners have the identical complaints so it seems to be Standard Operating Procedure at GCDC. When the morning came, the TV was turned down and prisoners went to bed and claims their daytime sleeping was disturbed by exercising and watching television, the only two things to do.
39. Refusal by nurse staff to accommodate special diets. Nurse Susan that they weren’t going to make any special diet arrangements for “one prisoner.” And that all prisoners are treated the same.
40. When Petitioner contacted Lance Howell, Deputy Director of DCI, I was told that prisoners were to be served two hot meals per day. I was told that they could not take any complaints about the prison, nor could they do anything about the issues Petitioner presented. That Kristin Dugger was the Dietician who made the meal plan. Yet when I contacted Kristin, who is now to obtain a copy of the menu, I found that I is now working for Mountain States Health Alliance, she said she was no longer working for the prison and that Bridget Greene was the dietician whom I could contact at the prison. I said when I was working there, I only made recommendations and that Rene Grages actually made the menus. Although when I called the prison, they would not give me the name of their dietician or access to the menu. According to Kristin, the minimum caloric requirements are 1800-2000 calories per day. Prisoners are at best, receiving 1000-1200 calories per day with milk being watered down.
41. Prisoners leave jail being traumatized by the abusive treatment. Prisoners are treated worse than livestock. Several prisoners complained of migraines from the poisonous environment.
42. There is no work in the workhouse for hundreds of inmates, especially during winter. There are only a handful of jobs so many inmates sit in open pods all day long.