Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project

THE PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTIONAL LAW PROJECT (PILP) IS A LEGAL AID ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO ADVANCE THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED AND DETAINED IN PENNSYLVANIA BY PROVIDING FREE CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE, ADVOCACY, AND REPRESENTATION.

THIS PAST YEAR, THE PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTIONAL LAW PROJECT (PILP) SOUGHT TO ENSURE THE HUMANE AND EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED AND DETAINED IN PENNSYLVANIA. AS THE COMMUNITY EMERGED FROM THE PANDEMIC, PEOPLE WHO WERE INCARCERATED AND DETAINED CONTINUED TO SUFFER FROM THE COROLLARY EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, INCLUDING PRISON AND JAIL CONDITIONS THAT CONTINUED TO RESTRICT OR DELAY ACCESS TO ACCESS NECESSARY SERVICES. PILP CONTINUES TO PROVIDE MULTI-LEVEL CLIENT-CENTERED LEGAL SERVICES THROUGH PROVIDING LEGAL REPRESENTATION, ADVOCACY, AND ASSISTANCE. THIS PAST YEAR, PILP WAS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL IN OBTAINING JUSTICE AND RELIEF FOR INCARCERATED PEOPLE THROUGH MEANINGFUL SETTLEMENTS. THESE INCLUDED SETTLEMENTS FOR THREE INCARCERATED PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED FROM THE FAILURES IN TREATING THEIR DIABETES, WHERE ONE MAN WENT BLIND FROM YEARS OF DIABETES MISMANAGEMENT, A WOMAN FACED LONG-TERM EFFECTS DUE TO INADEQUACIES IN THE DIABETIC MEDICAL CARE, AND A MAN WHO WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS AFTER MULTIPLE ERRORS IN HIS TREATMENT.PILP ALSO OBTAINED A SETTLEMENT FOR: (1) AN INCARCERATED WOMAN WHO WAS SHACKLED WHILE GIVING BIRTH; (2) AN INCARCERATED MAN WHO SUFFERED FROM AN UNTREATED HERNIA; (3) A PERSON WHO WAS PLACED IN A "DRY" CELL THAT WAS BARE, INCLUDING A LACK OF WATER, FOR MULTIPLE DAYS; (4) A MAN SEEKING TO BE ABLE TO OBSERVE HIS RELIGION BY WEARING A FEZ AND HAVE CONGREGATE RELIGIOUS SERVICES; AND (5) AN INCARCERATED MAN WHO SUFFERED NUMEROUS ABUSES INCLUDING PROLONGED SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND THE FORCED CUTTING OF HIS HAIR.IN REPRESENTING TRANSGENDER AND GENDER-NONCONFORMING PEOPLE WHO ARE INCARCERATED, PILP OBTAINED THE FIRST EVER GENDER-AFFIRMING SURGERY FOR A PERSON IN THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. PILP ALSO ENHANCED ITS WORK IN SEEKING TO EXPAND ACCESS TO MEDICATION FOR OPIOID USE DISORDER FOR PEOPLE IN JAILS AND PRISONS.PILP HAS ALSO CONTINUED TO ADVOCATE, SUE, AND LITIGATE ON BEHALF OF INCARCERATED PEOPLE AND THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS, WHETHER THEY WERE ASSAULTED, SEXUALLY ABUSED, OR SUBJECTED TO THE LACK OF MEDICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH CARE, PUNITIVE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CONDITIONS, OR DENIED RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS.