More Deaths At Corcoran Medical Unit

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Below is a press release and letter of protest to the California Department
of Corrections concerning the death of Grady Bullock, a prisoner coinfected
with HIV and hepatitis C at California State Prison-Corcoran.

Please fax a letter of protest about this latest death to Director Ed
Alameida, California Department of Corrections. If you need to send your
letter snail mail, here's the address:

Director Ed Alameida
California Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283

Thanks,

Judy Greenspan
California Prison Focus

________________________________


HIV/Hepatitis C in Prison Committee
California Prison Focus


MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY
Att: Newsroom, Assignment Editor


For Immediate Release: January 8, 2003
For More Information Call: Judy Greenspan (510) 813-4687
Michelle Foy (510) 593-7823

PRISONERS¹ RIGHTS ADVOCATES CALL FOR INVESTIGATION INTO RECENT DEATHS AND
MEDICAL CARE DELIVERY AT CORCORAN STATE PRISON

January 8 _ This week¹s death of another prisoner with HIV/AIDS at
California State Prison _ Corcoran, has spurred demands for an investigation
into the standard of medical care being provided at that prison for
prisoners with life-threatening illnesses. California Prison Focus is
demanding both a legislative and an internal California Department of
Corrections investigation into the recent death of Grady Bullock, a Corcoran
prisoner coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C (HCV).

According to Judy Greenspan of CPF¹s HIV/Hepatitis C in Prison (HIP)
Committee, the maximum security Corcoran prison, renowned for its brutality,
could not provide adequate medical care for Mr. Bullock. ³Last year, Mr.
Bullock¹s kidneys failed suddenly and he was forced to go on renal dialysis.
We believe that Corcoran¹s inability to provide adequate medical care was
directly responsible for his kidney failure and premature death,² charged
Greenspan. ³We demand an immediate investigation of the recent deaths and
Corcoran¹s medical care system,² she added.

For the past several years, the HIP Committee has ³exposed medical
neglect and abuse² in Corcoran¹s Chronic Infectious Disease (CID) Unit where
prisoners with HIV/AIDS are housed. A demonstration on October 19 in front
of the prison, drew attention to both charges of medical neglect and the
recent number of deaths of prisoners with HIV/AIDS. On November 19,
Wilfredo Ortiz, another HIV/HCV coinfected prisoner died at Corcoran prison.
Bullock is the fifth HIV+ prisoner to die since October 2002.

California Prison Focus recently released its Corcoran Report which
documents many cases of medical neglect and brutality at that prison. ³We
are convinced that without a full investigation of medical care at Corcoran,
and immediate changes in the delivery of that care, the deaths and abuse
will continue,² stated Dr. Corey Weinstein of California Prison Focus. ³We
are calling upon the leadership of the California State Legislature and the
CDC to initiate such an investigation,² Weinstein concluded.

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_____________________________________
Resources:

The Corcoran Report and other background documents are available from
California Prison Focus.




___________________________
HIV/Hepatitis C in Prison Committee
California Prison Focus
2940 16th Street, Room 307
San Francisco, CA 94103
Voicemail/fax line: (510) 665-1935


January 8, 2003


BY FAX _ PLEASE DELIVER IMMEDIATELY TO:
Edward Alameida, Director
California Department of Corrections
Fax No. (916) 322-2877

Michael Pickett, Deputy Director
CDC Health Care Services Division
Fax No. (916) 327-0593

Re: Grady Bullock, D-14691 _ his recent death at CSP-Corcoran

Dear Director Alameida and Deputy Director Pickett:

We are both alarmed and outraged over this week¹s death of Grady
Bullock, D-14691, a prisoner who suffered from renal failure and HIV/AIDS at
the California State Prison _ Corcoran. We demand an immediate
investigation into his death and into the medical delivery system at that
prison. We are particularly concerned about the level of care and medical
monitoring provided to prisoners with life-threatening diseases like
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and kidney failure.

We have been conducting an investigation into medical care at Corcoran and
visiting seriously ill prisoners for the past six years. We have watched
our clients deteriorate due to poor and substandard medical practices. We
have written to you in the past about our concerns. However, we believe
that the medical crisis at Corcoran prison is at its most urgent point and
must be addressed by your office as soon as possible.

Mr. Bullock is the fifth prisoner with HIV/AIDS to die at Corcoran since
the beginning of October 2002. We believe that the lives of all prisoners
with serious and life-threatening illnesses are at stake due to the level of
medical neglect and the inability of that prison to provide proper care to
these prisoners. Unless medical care is upgraded, particularly for the most
vulnerable, more deaths will follow.

We do not believe that Corcoran is equipped to handle the care for the
growing number of prisoners on renal dialysis. We reiterate our past
request that these prisoners be moved to another more competent prison
medical facility. The recent deaths also call into question whether
Corcoran should be allowed to house any prisoners with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C
or other serious illnesses.


We have attached a medical release form for Mr. Bullock so that you
might discuss this situation with our advocacy organization.

Sincerely,



Judy Greenspan
Chairperson

cc: Warden A.K. Scribner, CSP-Corcoran
Dr. Michael Bendon, Chief Medical Officer, Corcoran
Senator Gloria Romero, Chairperson, Senate Committee on the Correctional
System
Assemblyman Mark Leno, Chair, Assembly Public Safety Committee
Alison Hardy, Attorney-at-Law, Prison Law Office
Jackie Walker, AIDS/HCV Information Coordinator, ACLU National Prison
Project
Sister Suzanne Jabro, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Phyllis Beck, Hepatitis C Prison Coalition
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
Various Members of the Media