Dr. Doolittle

Don’t get sick in prison. You learn that the moment you get locked up. Two weeks after my arrest, routine blood work was done. A short while later I was called back down to the medical unit and greeted by these words “you have leukemia”. Fortunately, the moronic doctor had misread the results. After six more tubes, he “discovered” his error.



Virginia has contracted out inmate medical care and the company with the contract makes money by seeing high volumes of inmates each day. As a result, the care sucks.


Our “physician” here is flat out incompetent. You wouldn’t let him treat your family pet. A sampling of his recent diagnoses:


Corey – went to medical with severe lower abdominal pain. For four days he was denied treatment. His family called; he was seen and rushed to MCV (Medical College of VA in Richmond) where they discovered his appendix had burst.


Softball Larry – a great young athlete. Larry dropped 40 pounds in less than a month. He couldn’t keep food down. The doctor’s diagnosis: “You need vitamin D. Get outside.” One evening a C.O. saw Larry shaking uncontrollably. He demanded medical see Larry. They found him with a 104 fever and rushed him to MCV. After a four week hospital stay he returned. He was found to have ulcerative colitis.


Ray – a 62 year old inmate. He complained for weeks about pain and numbness in his arm. It took repeated calls into the prison before he was given an EKG. Shortly thereafter he was taken to MCV for two stents to open up blocked arteries.


These are just three examples. I have dozens. The truth is medical care in prisons is atrocious. Every issue of Prison Legal News reports dozens of cases throughout America each month where incompetent medical care led to million dollar awards to inmates (or, in most cases, the deceased inmate’s family).


In Portsmouth, Virginia last month PHS (Prison Health Services) agreed to settle a deceased inmate’s suit for $1.6 million. The inmate died in his cell of dehydration.


For inmates to get adequate health care they have to fight. Almost every diagnosis, every request for treatment only comes about after filing repeated grievances and – in many cases – getting family and friends to call the prison and demand adequate care.


Some may say “you guys get what you deserve”. That’s not the law. When society incarcerates a person they assume the obligation to provide for that person’s basic needs. California currently is under federal court order to release 46,000 of their 172,000 inmates. Why? Because they are at 200% capacity and medial care and housing has completely collapsed. California has this case on appeal to the US Supreme Court, but the writing is on the wall! You want to “lock criminals up? Pay for it!” It is against the law to deprive incarcerated persons of adequate health care. Ironic, isn’t it. The same Commonwealth that prosecutes criminals is itself breaking its own laws in its treatment of convicts.


But, every so often an inmate “wins one”. Flo has wanted a bottom bunk for months. He got one last Wednesday. How? He went outside and faked passing out in the heat. Rushed over to medical the doctor “checking his vitals” asked if he was OK. “What can we do for you?”


As Flo was moving into his new bunk he yelled out “don’t hate the player. Hate the game!”