The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that provides protections to qualified persons with disabilities, including those who are incarcerated. Incarcerated Americans with disabilities are guaranteed equal access to all programs and services provided by Title II covered entities.
We review court decisions regarding the ADA and the protections afforded to qualified individuals in incarceration.
The court’s decisions regarding the ADA, accessibility, and incarceration
Title II of the ADA states that “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.”
In Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections (DOC) v. Yeskey, 524 U.S. 206 (1998), the Supreme Court held that Title II of the ADA does in fact extend to disabled people in prison. Justice Scalia’s rationale was that the text of the ADA does not differentiate programs, services, and activities from those provided by public entities that are not prisons. Therefore, prisons are included, and they must be ADA-compliant.
Following that decision, a new case came before the Supreme Court in 2004, which was Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509 (2004). Here, the question was whether Title II exceeds Congress’ power under the Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection under the law). Title II of the ADA was found not to exceed Congress’ power; instead, Justice Stevens wrote that Title II constitutes a valid exercise of Congress’ power to enforce equal protection under the law. Here, the Court held that one can sue states for money damages when denied access to a courthouse.
We also have Goodman v. Georgia 544 U.S. 1031 (2005). Tony Goodman was a paraplegic inmate in the Georgia correctional system. The state of Georgia held him for almost 24 hours a day in a tiny cell that was too small for him to turn his wheelchair. Additionally, they refused to give Goodman accessible toilets and bathing facilities, so he had to sit in his own waste. They also denied him access to mental counselors, medical treatment, religious services, classes, and other programs because of his disability, while mobile prisoners had access to all of the aforementioned services. Besides the fact that this was abhorrent and unacceptable behavior, the Supreme Court stepped in to reaffirm that Goodman was allowed to sue the state for money damages from discriminatory practices. The ADA, once again, does apply to state prisons.
Statistics
How many individuals with disabilities are incarcerated? The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that about two in five of the incarcerated people in state and federal prisons had either an intellectual, cognitive, or developmental disability. An estimated 32% of prisoners and 40% of jail inmates reported having at least one disability.
Conclusion
With over a quarter of the state and federal prison population (and jail population) having some sort of disability, it’s crucial to ensure that the ADA is being applied to them fairly and that services remain accessible to them.
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