Montana News
Inmates say state prison gave them no way to clean after sewage backup
With Montana News, I'm Eleanor Smith. Sewage backed up into a Montana State prison last month. Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton reports the backup lasted for several days. Jan Dunlamp says her son in the mental health wing of the prison told her that sewage, including feces, partially flooded the unit. My son said that he had sewage on his floor. They were not even given anything to clean it up with. The Montana Department of Corrections confirmed sewage flooded part of the unit August 27 through August 29. DOC says the backup was caused by inmates flushing betting and other items down toilets. The agency says it provided cleaning supplies to prisoners. It did not say how many cells the backup impacted. But Kim Hill, like Dunlamp says her son, told her that didn't happen. The inmates were using like their betting and their clothing to try to keep it from coming into their units. The 2023 legislature gave DOC about $200 million to add over 100 beds to the prison. DOC says it will build those units to make maintenance and plumbing repairs faster and easier. In Columbia Falls, I'm Aaron Bolton.