Read on Twitter
Recently I got an email that broke my heart. "My name is Chris. I'm 53 and have been an addict my whole life..always opiates." 3 of her 4 brothers died of heroin ODs, all at 26, she said. "Most recently, my youngest brother's daughter passed on Christmas Eve..she was also 26" 1/9
After a lifetime of struggle—including a stint of stability on Suboxone which fell apart when she went off the med—Chris finally got her life back together with the help of methadone. 2/9
She wrote me because she has about a month to serve in jail on a years-old DUI and the jail wouldn't ensure that she could stay on her medication. Her story sounded EXACTLY like Geoff Pesce's. 3/9 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/01/29/when-going-to-jail-means-giving-up-the-meds-that-saved-your-life
Just like in Pesce's situation, this is clearly illegal. People in recovery from addiction are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the DOJ has said over and over that it's discriminatory for jails & prisons to withhold medically-necessary medication. 4/9
But they keep doing it. "I'm horrified at the thought of going thru detox. I honestly don't know if I can," Chris wrote me. "Where do we go for help? How are people allowed to just let us die? Take away our medication that literally saved our lives." 5/9 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/03/01/a-better-way-to-treat-addiction-in-jail
Ironically, the DuPage County Sheriff's office, which runs the jail where Chris must report, proudly touts a $1.16M BJA grant "to address the high rates of opioid use and ODs, and the lack of treatment options for incarcerated people in DuPage County." 6/9 https://www.dupagehealth.org/DocumentCenter/View/2029/DCHD-News-Release-Health-Department-Announces-Grant-to-Address-Opioids-Oct-7-2019-PDF
I connected Chris with @zlheiden at @ACLUMaine who has successfully sued several jails on behalf of clients in this same situation. 7/9 https://twitter.com/schwartzapfel/status/1111696491490480131?s=20
Today I learned that @lac_news, @ACLUofIL, and the MacArthur Justice Center filed suit against the DuPage County jail on Chris's behalf. 8/9 https://www.lac.org/resource/finnigan-v-mendrick
If they win—and the law is clearly on their side—not only will this suit help save Chris's life, but it will also save the lives of countless other people in her position. 9/fin
