The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is asking the courts to order an independent investigation into the Alaska Department of Corrections after a record number of deaths were reported last year.
Neither the the Alaska Department of Corrections nor the attorney general’s office had been served with the lawsuits by Friday and could not immediately comment, officials said in emails to The Associated Press.
According to statistics from the department, 18 inmates died under the department’s control in 2022, seven of those by suicide. The previous high was 16 deaths, two by suicide, in 2002. One lawsuit was filed on behalf of family members of James Rider. It alleges he was placed in a cell alone at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility in Palmer, despite being a “known suicide risk.” He died by suicide last September, 11 days after being jailed.
The other lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Mark Cook Jr., who was held for weeks on a disorderly conduct charge at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau because his family couldn’t afford bail. The lawsuit alleges Cook had debilitating back pain from an injury, and it worsened to the point he could not get up from the floor of his cell. The lawsuit alleges he covered the camera in his cell and died by suicide in April.The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting.
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