WALLA WALLA — A disability advocate organization is suing Washington State Penitentiary, claiming it keeps low-risk inmates with mental illness in cells for 16 hours a day and limits their recreational activities so they can receive treatment.
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports Disability Rights Washington filed the suit Monday claiming the prison has violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by keeping these inmates in high-security units.
The state Department of Corrections did not return the newspaper’s calls for comment.
The organization began looking into the matter late last year after receiving complaints from inmates who claimed their mental-health treatment at the facility was different to other prisons.
The organization’s attorney Heather McKimmie says the penitentiary doesn’t offer some of the programs that inmates need to complete their sentences.
