Prison commission rejects ACLU proposal

State prison commissioners on Wednesday rejected the ACLU's proposed agreement that medical treatment at Ely State Prison be improved.

"I do not want to enter a consent decree," said Howard Skolnik, director of corrections, before the Nevada Board of Prison Commissioners rejected the American Civil Liberties Union's proposal. "I do not feel we are unconstitutional and the issue is whether we are delivering a constitutional level of care."

The board directed Skolnik to work with ACLU to have the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners or another neutral body select an independent team to review medical records and procedures at Ely.

The ACLU visited Ely State Prison late last year after receiving complaints from inmates about the quality of medical care there. Ely is Nevada's maximum security prison where the state's most dangerous inmates are housed.

Dr. William Noel reviewed medical records at the prison and interviewed prisoners.

"The pervasive disregard for human suffering and the shocking medical malpractice revealed in the 35 case files I reviewed is almost unbelievable," Noel wrote in his report.

ACLU officials also complained about inadequate medical records that they copied at the prison, saying it made it almost impossible to understand what was going on.

On Wednesday, Skolnik told the prison commission, consisting of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general, he opened the doors to the prison to ACLU investigators.

He said "they made the copies (of records) which they say they can't understand." He presented the commission with a mockup of a full inmate medical file that he said is very easy to understand.

Skolnik said the consent decree commits the state to providing a doctor on site at all times, which he said he can't do since it's extremely difficult to hire doctors willing to work at Ely.

He said the consent decree could result in the department "ending up in court every time we change a directive."

A consent decree is a voluntary agreement between parties to a lawsuit where the defendant ceases alleged illegal activities in return for an end to the charges.

Instead, Skolnik said he would like to talk to ACLU officials and have an independent medical review of Ely done. He said he can't find any evidence Dr. Noel has had any medical correctional experience at all and that medical service is significantly different inside a prison than outside.

Gov. Jim Gibbons suggested having the medical examiners select a team of doctors to perform a review.

"That gives some independence to the process," he said.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller agreed and Skolnik said he would contact the ACLU to try work out a plan.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.