Philly must pay $25 million for violating prison conditions

A federal judge has ordered Philadelphia to provide $25 million to boost recruitment and retention efforts for the city's prison system, less than a month after the court found the city had violated a settlement in a legal dispute over prison conditions.

U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh ordered the city to set aside money equal to the amount it has not spent on its jail budget since 2020 due to staffing shortages. That money is to be used to implement other court-ordered remedial measures aimed at increasing jail staff, improving prisoners' access to health care and reducing overcrowding, according to the command released on Friday.

“As an appropriate remedy imposed on this Court by virtue of the contempt power, the City of Philadelphia is ordered to pay into the registry of this Court the sum of $25 million,” it said. “The funds are to be used solely to carry out the terms of this order, with the City required to submit periodic reports to the Court of all disbursements.”

The order was issued in response to the court's July 12 finding that Philadelphia had committed civil contempt for failing to comply with essential elements of a Settlement 2022in particular the requirements regarding the increase in staffing levels and the time spent outside the inmates' cells.

In a footnote, the judge said he was open to further arguments about whether “any form of coercive or compensatory measures” were also justified.

Philadelphia reached a settlement in June 2022 following a 2020 class action lawsuit that originally alleged that conditions in Philadelphia's prisons put inmates at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and locked them in their cells for unreasonable lengths of time.

The agreement called for hiring and retaining more correctional officers to adequately staff all shifts, but the court order said the city had not done so two years after the agreement was signed.

Under Friday's order, Philadelphia would have three months to hire a staffing firm that specializes in correctional officers. The city must also examine whether there are any positions currently filled by correctional officers that could be filled by “civilian employees” instead. It also has been authorized to immediately offer its officers double pay if necessary to fill all open shifts.

The order says the city should expand its pool of potential applicants by allowing applicants from outside Pennsylvania and allowing former employees to reapply within one year instead of five years of leaving.

To encourage new and current employees to stay, the agency will set up a “wellness program” with a dedicated coordinator and compare the salaries and benefits of correctional officers with those of other city employees and highlight the differences, the order says.

In addition to hiring more staff, the order also requires Philadelphia to spend more on prison health care contractors and offer more “rounds” to check inmates in their cells until facilities can accommodate increased out-of-cell time requirements. Telemedicine services will be implemented to reduce the need for staff to transport inmates to outside health facilities, even if it costs more, the order says.

Philadelphia must also provide computer terminals in all law library facilities over the next year and establish a system to “quickly and efficiently scan legal documents and papers for contraband without violating attorney-client privilege,” the order states.

The prison commissioner has also been directed to find ways to reduce overcrowding by transferring inmates to other secure facilities. A staff member must conduct a monthly assessment of who was eligible for bail but is still in jail because of an inability to pay, and identify those who are being held for less than $100,000, need significant medical care, are being held on relatively minor charges or are considered low-risk for other reasons.

“We are disappointed by the finding of contempt, but have the utmost respect for Judge McHugh and his judgment in crafting this order,” said Michael Resnick, the Philadelphia Prisons director, in a statement. “The situation in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons has evolved over the years. We hope that the actions ordered by Judge McHugh will provide the system with the tools it needs to achieve compliance by removing obstacles to our efforts to recruit, hire and retain staff to provide services to inmates on a consistent basis.”

The $25 million, which the court said was roughly equivalent to the amount the city had not used from its prison budget during the litigation, largely due to staff shortages, will be used to force the city to comply with the settlement.

The prisoners' lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

The prisoners are represented by David Rudovsky, Jonathan H. Feinberg, Susan M. Lin and Grace Harris of Kairys Rudovsky Messing Feinberg & Lin LLP, Matthew A. Feldman, Su Ming Yeh and Sarah Bleiberg Bellos of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, Will W. Sachse of Dechert LLP, and Bret Grote, Nia Holston and Rupalee Rashatwar of the Abolitionist Law Center.

Philadelphia is represented by Anne B. Taylor of the Philadelphia City Law Department.

The case is Remick et al. v. City of Philadelphia et al., case number 2:20-cv-01959, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

–Edited by Adam LoBelia.