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Scores of Incarcerated New Yorkers Sent to Solitary and Denied Visits Due to Faulty Drug Tests
By
Matt Katz
Published Jan 4, 2022
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By
Matt Katz
Published Jan 4, 2022
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The New York State prison system utilized a faulty drug test that resulted in 1,652 incarcerated people being wrongfully punished with solitary confinement, longer prison terms and bans on family visits, according to a new report from the state inspector general released Tuesday.
One woman at Albion Correctional Facility near Rochester who falsely tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids was confined to her cell for 40 days and punished with an additional 45 days in solitary confinement. She lost her prison job, couldn’t use the phone for 105 days, and wasn’t allowed to accept packages. Her three children were forbidden from visiting.
In a press conference, Inspector General Lucy Lang said the problem with the tests was compounded by the fact that employees from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, along with the drug testing company, Microgenics Corp., failed to follow rules on the procurement of the testing equipment and the administration of the tests. As a result, incarcerated people were wrongfully punished at prisons throughout the state during eight months in 2019.
Lang called the scandal “a perfect storm” of “bad decisions and sometimes accidents that led to really catastrophic results that traumatized many, many New Yorkers.”
Microgenics’ own internal research, according to the report, identified a problem with the urinalysis tests used in the prison system: They were susceptible to positive hits from common medications, leading to false results. That information wasn’t disclosed to the state.
When corrections officials were made aware of the problem, they didn’t act — even after one unnamed top administrator learned that five people were wrongfully punished due to bogus results. Finally, in late 2019, corrections officials began releasing people from solitary confinement who were punished for testing positive. About 2,500 disciplinary records have since been expunged.
The state now uses different drug tests, and it no longer allows solitary confinement as punishment for failing a drug test. In addition, the state now contracts with a different company for drug tests.
“While DOCCS has terminated its contract with Microgenics and reformed its drug-testing program, this stands as a heartbreaking example of how the absence of transparency can undermine due process and basic human rights,” Lang said.
Martin Garcia successfully challenged a prison drug test and was released in September. He now works for the advocacy organization Worth Rises.
George Joseph / WNYC
The report found that false positives were a consistent problem when testing for synthetic cannabinoids, known as K2 or Spice, and buprenorphine, a controlled substance that is commonly used to treat opioid addiction. Microgenics’ test had a cross reaction with common, over-the-counter medication such as antacid, and natural sweeteners.
The company’s own procedures mandate that separate, second tests be used to confirm positives. But those protocols weren’t followed, the inspector general said. One incarcerated man who tested positive for buprenorphine was wrongly informed by a Microgenics representative that over-the-counter medication could not cause a false reading. The man was sent to solitary confinement for six months.
The inspector general also alleged that after Microgenics’ internal research indicated their drug tests might produce false positives, New York officials were not immediately informed. The state terminated its contract with Microgenics, a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific based in Fremont, California, in January 2020. A spokesperson for the company did not return a request for comment.
Lang said the inspector general’s report has been forwarded to the state Attorney General for possible criminal investigation. The report states that DOCCS’s contract with Microgenics was likely a violation of state finance law, and that the agency did not perform due diligence before acquiring the tests — “failing to understand that such tests were merely preliminary.”
Three lawsuits are also pending.
The allegations first came to light after the corrections department received a complaint from the nonprofit, Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. Shortly thereafter, prisoners filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the tests were defective.
One of the complainants, Nadezda Steele-Warrick, previously told WNYC/Gothamist that she was held in isolation for 11 days and denied a visit with her husband and son after falsely testing positive. “I was crying, when I realized it wasn’t a joke, and nobody is going to come and rescue me,” she said.
DOCCS released a statement noting that its own staffers alerted the Office of the Inspector General that Microgenics tests might be faulty.
“We appreciate the thoroughness of the investigation as DOCCS strives to run fair, safe and secure facilities across the state,” the agency said.
Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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