Protesters fight for inmates facing alleged inhumane conditions at Sussex Correctional Institution

GEORGETOWN, Del. – People in Delaware are taking a stand against the Sussex Correctional Institution.

On Sunday, protestors gathered in front of the prison fighting for inmates facing alleged inhumane conditions.

“They’re wearing the same clothes for 3 and 4 days and they’re wearing clothes that don’t fit them,” said Heather Morris, “They’re not receiving their normal medications.”

“They’re not even receiving Tylenol for a fever,” said Morris.

Elaine Autry says her son is an inmate at the prison.

She says he’s tested positive for the coronavirus, but she fears that her son is not being treated fairly.

“What’s really scary is that he has chronic asthma and the other day they put Mace in the building so thick they had to open the doors to make it dissipate and he has a hard time breathing with that and coronavirus is a respiratory illness,” said Elaine Autry.

Protestors say they have called out to officials for help, but they have not gotten the response they need.

“I have contacted everyone I know of and it’s like they just can’t get through to the prisons,” said Autry.

“The prisons seem to be untouchable and I don’t understand that,” said Autry.

The Delaware Department of Correction responded to the allegations saying, “The Department of Correction understands family members are concerned about their loved ones in prison.

That is why we are communicating with inmates so they understand the extraordinary measures we are taking at SCI to protect and treat our inmates and staff and reduce the risk of new infections, including unprecedented relocation of inmates to different housing units and an extensive specialized decontamination cleaning operation.

We employed proactive testing to identify inmates and officers who may be silent spreaders of the virus, and we isolated inmates with the illness in our COVID-19 Treatment Centers where they are receiving round-the-clock monitoring and care by medical professionals.

Those efforts are working. 90% of the inmates who tested positive have no symptoms, and the first 75 inmates who have been symptom-free for more than 14 days already are considered recovered and will be moved to a separate building starting Monday until they have two negative COVID-19 test results. We will stay vigilant and act responsibly to continue this progress.”