Overview
- Two women detained at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility died within days of each other, with Khaira Howard dying on May 13 and Rebecca Fackler dying on May 17, and both deaths are the subject of MDOC mortality reviews and autopsies by an independent medical examiner.
- Private law firms hired by the families are conducting their own probes and say inmate tips allege delayed or denied medical care, including claims that Fackler was refused entry to the health care unit and that Howard called for help for as long as 45 minutes.
- A letter signed by 34 current and former lawmakers from both parties demands the immediate resignation of MDOC Director Heidi Washington and says systemic policy and culture change is needed across the department.
- The Michigan Department of Corrections says leaders and senior medical staff are on site, that environmental testing found results consistent with expectations for large living settings, and that standard emergency and referral protocols were followed while investigations continue.
- The deaths have revived long-running complaints recorded at a House oversight hearing about mold, staffing, equipment shortages and retaliation, and they have prompted protests, calls to close the facility temporarily, and the prospect of policy, administrative and legal consequences.