Wabash Valley Correctional Facility - The SHU Agreement

The SHU Agreement

In response to a law suit brought by the ACLU of Indiana, the Indiana Department of Correction agreed in May 2006 to move all mentally ill inmates from the super-maximum Secured Housing Unit by October 2006. According to the Department of Correction’s medical director Dr. Amos Elton, “Studies have shown that people that have a serious psychological disorder may be worsened by being put in these secured housing units.” Since 2000, four inmates in the Secured Housing Unit have killed themselves and several others have badly abused themselves by ripping chunks of flesh from their bodies . In the past, inmates whose mental health greatly deteriorated were sent to the psychiatric care unit in New Castle. However, once they were stabilized they were sent back to the SHU, where their mental health would worsen again according to the lawsuit .