Two men have died who committed suicides in Alaska prisons over the last year has prompted advocates for legal rights to file a lawsuit against the state on behalf of their families.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has filed its wrongful death lawsuit on Thursday in the Department of Corrections seeking a financial settlement and an independent investigation into deaths among prisoners in Alaska that reached an all-time high in 2022.
“The state is bound by moral and duty under the law to give any medical care is necessary to keep thousands of prisoners in Department of Corrections’ custody secure and healthy,” said Megan Edge Director of the ACLU’s Alaska Prison Project. “And it became apparent that they weren’t able to meet this obligation.”
Two families from men in jail who passed away two years ago – James Rider and Mark Cook Jr. – are named as plaintiffs in two separate lawsuits, along with an ACLU as well as law firm Friedman Rubin representing Rider’s family and private attorney Vance Sanders representing Cook’s.
In both instances, Edge said, DOC personnel and procedures failed to take care of any mental health concerns that either man was suffering from.
“They took two individuals in need of assistance needing medical attention and put them in isolation. This is not medical treatment and is a form of brutality,” she said.
A spokesperson from the Alaska Department of Corrections said Friday that the department has not yet received notification of the lawsuits, and he declined to make any comments.
As per the ACLU’s report, 18 persons perished in DOC custody in the last the year. That’s one of the largest numbers ever in one year.
