Protest held at Westville Prison

WESTVILLE, Ind.--- A drive by protest was held Tuesday at Westville Correctional Facility. Demonstrators were calling for improvements to the living conditions for the inmates.

"It’s an issue that I understand, but I also think it’s their responsibility to come up with a solution but it seems like they’ve done nothing but just sit on their hands, said Angela Grable, the protest's organizer. "They’re just now working to work around, from what I understand, small, very small, changes but it’s too late by now."

Family members and friends of those incarcerated at Westville drove by the prison for hours Tuesday afternoon to ask for better living conditions. Some claim the prison has mold problems, and inmates do not have access to hand sanitizer, hot water, or hot food.

"Nobody would be checking on them, their temperatures won’t be taken, basically they wouldn’t get any help from a nurse unless it got to a point where it’s critical," said the mother of an inmate.

Officials at Westville did not confirm these reports but Indiana Department of Corrections did issue a statement saying "This protest in no way affected the daily operation of the facility. We at the facility continue to work toward providing a safe environment for staff and offender."

However, many of the protesters are concerned about the high number of Coronavirus cases in the facility. Accorrding to the IDOC, there have been 138 positive cases at Westville with one inmate and two officer deaths.

"There are men in here that are in here for driving while suspended, yet they’re being given a death sentence," said Grable.