A class of women prisoners incarcerated at the Women's Correctional Center ("WCC") in Warm Springs, Montana, filed a class action lawsuit alleging violations of their First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights; the Rehabilitative Act of 1973; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The plaintiffs, who were represented by the ACLU National Prison Project as well as by private counsel, alleged unconstitutional conditions of confinement, deliberate indifference to medical and psychiatric needs, failure to accommodate for disabilities, denial of access to the courts, and gender discrimination, and were seeking injunctive relief. On December 16, 1994, after extensive pre-trial investigations, the parties settled the case. The defendants agreed to remedy several of the complaints, including: facilities that complied with fire and safety regulations, sanitary facilities, an adequate diet for the women, adequate medical and mental health care services, access to the courts, basic education/GED preparation, programs to assist the women with personal skills, parenting skills, emotional problems, and substance abuse, and related mental health counseling, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act by making programs and services accessible to the disabled.
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