Neglected, Disabled Louisiana Inmate Needs Your Help

Thirty-one year old Reginald Peters is an inmate at the Iberia Parish Jail in Louisiana. He has muscular dystrophy. Left untreated, his disease is causing him to lose control of his body -- and the jail administration seems largely unconcerned. Forced to sleep on the floor and unable to clean himself, Peter’s condition is deteriorating. The ACLU has called on the jail to accommodate Peters’ needs, but to date, their calls have gone unanswered.

In a case where blind allegiance to policy has taken precedence over basic human decency, this man needs the assistance of local and online activists alike.

Muscular dystrophy is a disorder that causes weakness in the muscles. It’s a genetic condition that worsens with time, often leading to complete immobility. Left untreated, someone suffering from MD can lose the ability to use the muscles in their limbs as they experience atrophy or the gradual wasting away of muscle mass. Mr. Peters’ feet have begun to curl and he has lost much of the use in his arms. Physical therapy can help prevent the more severe symptoms of MD, as can general medical treatment. Reginald Peters has not received either.

Peters’ condition has gradually deteriorated. He is largely unable to use his arms and has been forced to ask other inmates for assistance in activities as personal as cleaning himself after using the restroom. When they can’t or won’t help, he simply doesn’t get clean. He has also been forced to sleep on the floor because he cannot pull himself up into his bed. And according to letters from the ACLU, he has been denied reasonable assistance by the jail.

The ACLU has been aware of Mr. Peters’ plight since last spring. Just a few months ago, they submitted what’s known as an Administrative Remedy Procedure (ARP) demanding he be moved to a facility that could provide him with the level of care his condition demands. Although Steve Elledge, general counsel for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, said he would be moved soon after the ARP was received in November, Peters remains in the same condition and location today.

Copies of the letters sent by ACLU personnel indicate Mr. Elledge has repeatedly passed the buck to the Warden of the institution, Wesley Hayes. However, Warden Hayes has yet to contact the organization in an effort to remedy the problem. The ACLU has since suggested that they are considering litigation in the case, as following the institution’s grievance procedures has proved ineffective.

A lawsuit filed by the ACLU would prove costly and would further prolong Mr. Peters’ ordeal when jail administration could so easily improve it. Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, located in St.Gabriel, is less than 90 miles from New Iberia and serves as the medical facility for both chronically and seriously ill offenders. It has the most extensive medical department of all state institutions and was the facility that Mr. Elledge first suggested Peters would be moved to. So why haven’t steps been taken to facilitate such a move?

The Iberia Parish Sherriff’s Department suggests Peters’ parole violation has not been resolved and that is what is responsible for his current situation. If that is truly the case, they must provide some basic personal and medical care to end what can only be called cruel and unusual punishment.

Show your support for the ACLU’s recommendations in the case of Reginald Peters. Demand the local Sherriff’s Department provide suitable medical care or transport Peters to a facility that can more readily care for his needs pending his upcoming court dates.

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Photo Credit: Gabriel S. Delgado C.