ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis inmate suing for a shower has succeeded, as federal judge Ronnie White on March 18 ordered he be moved to a section of the City Justice Center with a more accessible washing facility for him.
White told the City and prison officials to move Tillman, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, to a cell in the medical unit of the second floor of the CJC and to assign qualified staff to help him get in and out of the shower. They must also provide him with necessary equipment like a wheelchair transfer bench.
White issued this directive in a motion granting a temporary restraining order two days after refusing to dismiss the case.
“(T)he balance of harms weighs in favor of Tillman,” White ruled. “Tillman contends that he remains unable to properly bathe and runs the risk of infection if he is not provided with assistance and the tools necessary to shower.
“Defendants claim that the relief requested by Tillman is ‘excessive’ and would cause ‘significant disruption and expense.’ Defendants, however, have not detailed the cost of Tillman’s requested relief and, during oral examination, Defendants indicated the jail was willing to provide assistance in showering to Tillman.”
Tillman was incarcerated once before at the Justice Center, where he was instructed to use a shower not designed for the disabled and without staff help; according to the suit, Tillman fell in that shower and developed sepsis due to his injuries.
According to the suit, Tillman was provided with a rag and basin to wash himself on his own in his cell. When he asked a nurse if he could get help showering after three months of no shower and starting to urinate blood, Tillman says he was told that "this is not a long-term care facility."
Tillman says that multiple corrections officers, nurses and his own case worker either ignored or refused his requests for assistance.
The plaintiff also says he has been denied the physical therapy that could help him to someday walk again while incarcerated.
St. Louis, City Justice Center Superintendent Adrian Barnes and Division of Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass filed their motion to dismiss the lawsuit of Anthony Tillman on March 14. They argued he turned down a wheelchair-accessible shower, as well as failed to exhaust administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
They also say he is free to shower, which is contrary to what Tillman said in his lawsuit.
“Defendants have not prevented plaintiff from bathing or showering during his incarceration at the Justice Center, and similarly have no desire to prevent him (or any other paraplegic inmate) from bathing and showering in the future,” the motion to dismiss says.