Lawsuit alleges NMCD has inmates in 'abhorrent' living conditions

Rats, cockroaches and pigeon feces.

This is what five inmates at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility allege they have experienced at their time in the prison, and the reason they and nearly half the other inmates have all contracted bacterial infections numerous times, according to a lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed on March 20 in 1st Judicial District Court, accused the New Mexico Corrections Department of keeping inmates in “unsanitary” and “abhorrent” conditions that have led to nearly half of all inmates contracting H. Pylori — a bacterium that infects the stomach lining and can cause abdominal pain, vomiting and peptic ulcers, according to Parrish Collins, attorney for the five inmates at WNMCF.

“I think these women are going to be facing long-term health issues related to this ongoing H. Pylori outbreak, it’s basically an epidemic at that prison,” Collins said. “They (NMCD) show no inclination to exercise any authority or oversight over the contractors, and so the taxpayers got to get involved.”

NMCD said that while they will not comment directly on the pending lawsuit, the department “takes the health and well-being of those entrusted in our care seriously,” according to a statement sent from Brittany Roembach, public information officer for NMCD.

The lawsuit accuses the correctional facility of unclean conditions including: infestations of pigeons, rodents and cockroaches, food trays served with pigeons feces and food kept in open air for long stretches.

Collins said that since 2018, his law firm has filed roughly 50 similar claims or lawsuits and NMCD has not made significant changes since.

This is not the first time organizations have reached out to NMCD regarding claims of unsafe living conditions at the facility. In 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote to Warden Rick Whitten to express frustration in the department’s handling of inmates.

“In response to our first letter, the facility sent us information about cleaning products they were using and re-education being done of various safety protocols,” said Lalita Moskowitz, managing attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico.

“It wasn’t until we sent a second letter almost a year later that they finally took even minimal action by installing plastic curtains to prevent pigeons from entering the kitchen,” Moskowitz added. “From our understanding, major concerns persist regarding kitchen hygiene conditions, contaminated trays and utensils, and inadequate treatment for women who contract H. pylori.”

In a statement sent to the Journal, Summit Food Service said that while they had not been served a lawsuit yet, they will monitor the situation.

“Summit Food Service, alongside our client, is committed to food safety and has consistently passed comprehensive health inspections at this facility,” the company wrote. “Though we have not been served with a lawsuit related to these allegations, we will continue to monitor the situation.”

Roembach added that all facilities undergo annual inspections by the New Mexico Environment Department, and the WNMCF “successfully passed its annual inspection in January with flying colors” and passed another inspection on April 4.