A Michigan lawmaker is calling for the resignation of the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections after the death of a 28-year-old inmate at Michigan’s only women’s prison.
Khaira Howard died Wednesday at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility just days before her scheduled release, according to reporting from the Detroit Free Press. Her death has intensified scrutiny over conditions inside the prison, which has faced years of complaints involving mold, inadequate medical care, and neglect.
No official cause of death has been released, and the Corrections Department said Friday that Howard's death was still under investigation. The department said lifesaving measures were attempted but were unsuccessful.
State Representative Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said Howard had contacted her office earlier this year about conditions inside the prison, including alleged toxic mold.
According to Pohutsky, Howard wrote that women inside the facility were being asked to clean mold without proper protective equipment and that the mold persisted despite repeated cleaning efforts.
In recent months, an oversight committee meeting and investigations have focused on allegations of unsafe living conditions, delayed medical treatment, and staff misconduct at the facility.
“In my experience, Director Washington is taking a callous and cruel and dismissive approach to all of these issues,” Pohutsky said. “In all of the times where I have reached out to the director and other people at MDOC. I have heard back from her once. So she does not take this seriously.”
Pohutsky is now calling for Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington to resign.
In a statement to Michigan Public, the Corrections Department said it “takes the safety and security of those under our supervision very seriously” and has “comprehensive processes and medical protocols in place to respond to medical emergencies.”
The department also said incarcerated people have access to regular medical checkups and emergency services.
Pohutsky alleged Howard was under medical observation when she died and questioned the emergency response described to her by advocates and incarcerated women.
“This was a preventable tragedy,” Pohutsky said. “They can start changing course today and they have to.”
