PORTLAND, Ore. — Inmate Nathan J. Bennett figured the state owed him for improperly confiscating 250 pages of porn from his cell at Two Rivers Correctional Institution.
State officials agreed. Last March, they cut him a check for $125 — a month after he finished his sentence.
Inmate
Todd A. Ritchey, serving time for assault, insisted that corrections officers at the state prison in Ontario damaged his television when they searched his cell in March 2009. Five months later, state officials paid him $260 — the cost of a new one.
And inmate Paul M. Moore for months demanded that corrections officials replace sunglasses missing from his cell. A state judge ultimately ordered that Moore be paid $215 — plus $3.29 in interest.
Property claims are a vexing challenge for the state’s prison system. Each year, inmates file about 1,000 claims that state officials — not other inmates — damaged or lost their property, or that their rights were violated when items were confiscated.
An internal Corrections Department audit found the state pays an average of $60,000 a year for such claims, and spends more than that to process them. In addition, corrections officials are months behind in making changes recommended by the auditors, such as tightening limits and better tracking inmate property.
“Staff members often find themselves e-mailing, calling and faxing property records back and forth among institutions in order to respond” to inmate complaints, the audit found.
Every prison has its own system for logging inmates’ property. The systems can’t talk to one another. That’s a problem when inmates are moved from prison to prison, and inventories are handwritten checklists. The Corrections Department two years ago tested software developed by Canadian prison authorities to solve that problem, but hasn’t put it into common use.
Corrections officers told auditors one problem is inmates collect too much property. State rules list the property inmates can keep, from food to electric guitars. But the limits aren’t routinely enforced.
“Staff members stated the allowance of too much property creates fire hazards, makes it easier to conceal contraband, and inhibits the effectiveness of cell searches,” the audit said.
Inmates can’t turn to the state for compensation if another inmate takes their property. But they can reach into the state till when property is lost during moves or damaged during cell searches.
Most claims are denied, and others are handled informally within the prison. The state resists claims when proof is doubtful, or inmates place unreasonable values on their property.
Edward A. Thomas, serving time at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario for sex abuse, sought $675 for nine family photos missing from his cell. “My pictures are priceless and I just want some gratuity for my losses,” Thomas wrote.
He went to court after the state denied his claim. A judge in September ordered the state to pay him $9 — a dollar a photo — plus $100 because he won the case. Legal services cost the state $700.
Curtis W. Bevan sued the state after six photo albums disappeared as he was moved to Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla. “Those photos were of my whole life,” said Bevan, since released. A judge ordered the state to pay Bevan $900 and an additional $100 for winning his case.
Inmates can net more than token amounts, too.
Robert C. Woodroffe, serving time for robbery, claimed prison officials were responsible for a long list of property that disappeared from his cell over three days when he was in segregation. He listed food items, electronic game equipment and “lingerie-swimsuit photos” he valued at $100. A judge last July awarded Woodroffe $1,838.66.
More often, state officials are successful in denying claims or settling them for pennies on the dollar.
Dayshawndo Maxwell, serving time for burglary and assault, complained that 60 bars of soap disappeared after he was put in segregation following a fight. He wanted $46.60. The state gave him $13.30.
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