- Michigan lawmakers scrutinize women’s prison conditions after inmate died of treatable infection
- Critics linked mold, ventilation issues at the prison to inmate health problems
- Past lawsuits underscore longstanding safety concerns at the facility
Months after a woman in state custody died from a treatable infection, Michigan lawmakers from both parties raised concerns over what they described as systemic failures at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday morning, state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, said she saw black spots in the seams of the shower room when she visited the women’s correctional facility on Feb. 12.
When asked what those spots were, the warden told her it was black paint on clear grout — not mold — and offered to eat it in front of her to prove it was not toxic, Pohutsky told colleagues…