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closeMonday, Aug. 31, 2009
Coyote Ridge inmate seeks new status after beating
By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer
The good -- perhaps even miraculous -- news for Scott McDonald, the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center inmate who was beaten nearly to death June 29, is that he is doing better now.
But that improvement means he may be able to serve the rest of his time in the state prison system.
After the beating, the Department of Corrections considered him for "extraordinary medical placement." That status allows inmates to be moved out of the prison system and into private treatment or the custody of their families, with supervision.
The department started processing him for the status while he was in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was unconscious and incapacitated and showed no signs he would ever wake up. The department put him on furlough, removing his shackles and guards because he wasn't a flight risk.
When he did wake up, just two or three days later, the department re-established a security detail. He suddenly was able to talk and feed himself, so the department halted steps toward extraordinary medical placement.
"He's doing remarkably well," said Ken Taylor, director of health services for the DOC. "And because of that, he's not sick enough to qualify for the program. And that's a great thing. We should all be ecstatic at the extent of his recovery."
McDonald, 45, was in the state prison in Connell for threatening to kill a man in a 2007 robbery attempt. His cellmate, Kenneth Smith, 32, reportedly beat him with a smudge pot in a pillowcase.
The two had been at Coyote Ridge since April. They were among about 465 long-term minimum- and medium-security inmates moved into two new units of the $190 million prison expansion.
Taylor declined to speak specifically about McDonald's condition or treatment because he hasn't signed an agreement allowing that.
McDonald's sister, Laurie Ingram of Pasco, and other family members were allowed to visit him Friday at Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen for the first time since he was moved there from Harborview on July 30.
Their visit lasted nearly two hours before it was cut short because McDonald grew tired, Ingram said. She said he recognized his family but at times grew confused.
"Everything we would ask Scotty, Scotty would just agree and say 'Yes,' " she said.
When the family was last saw him at Harborview, he could walk with a walker, use the bathroom on his own, identify colors, count to 10 and recall personal information such as his name and birth date, she said.
Now that he's back in prison, his mind seems to have gone downhill and he's lost weight, Ingram said. He didn't always seem to remember who he was, and he couldn't open a soda bottle on his own, she said.
He has undergone multiple surgeries but still has severe injuries, including skull fractures, she said. His face looked sunken, and he needs a prosthetic left eye to replace the one he lost, she said.
Ingram has expressed frustration with the DOC's handling of him and said the family has hired an attorney. She would like McDonald released to the family so he can recover in a safe environment and get the care he needs.
"It's a miracle that he lived, and we want to keep him alive," Ingram said. "We don't want him to go downhill."
Ingram said he should be in a hospital in the Tri-Cities or Spokane, rather than in a prison where something bad could happen, such as a fall or a brain bleed, and no one would know it, she said.
Ingram said she also fears another prisoner might come after him, and he'd be even more vulnerable.
"Look what happened to Scotty -- he was beaten," she said.
Dick Morgan, director of prisons, said the department didn't have concerns about keeping McDonald in a prison setting because it doesn't have any information that he is in danger from anyone except Smith. And the two prisoners certainly would be kept apart, Morgan said.
Taylor said DOC can give McDonald whatever medical treatment he needs. And the costs -- which probably have exceeded $200,000 -- aren't a factor in what treatment he will get, Taylor said.
The department has paid the costs, although the process has been started to enroll McDonald in Medicaid. If he gets on Medicaid, it would pay for inpatient care outside prison, even covering retroactively his time at Harborview and Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Taylor said.
McDonald still needs specialty medical treatment, Taylor said. Since being moved to Stafford Creek, he has been taken out of the prison two or three times a week for treatment, Taylor said.
He said McDonald may be moved closer to family. Ingram said they were told it may be Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima.
Ingram said McDonald also should be released because of the furlough the DOC put on him while he was at Harborview. The furlough should have meant permanent release, she said.
But Morgan said a furlough doesn't affect a prisoner's overall sentence.
"We can't alter the sentence of the court or our duty to maintain custody. Only the court can release him from our custody," Morgan said.
He said the furlough was only a suspension of the security detail to save costs. In all, 17 officers spent 571 hours guarding him at the hospital.
Ingram said Coyote Ridge bears some of the blame because the prison didn't prevent the attack.
"Why didn't they stop the fight? They could've stopped (it). ... This should not have happened to him," Ingram said.
Morgan said Coyote Ridge in fact didn't have any way to prevent the attack, because it didn't know he was targeted.
"Our internal review indicated that policies and procedures were followed," Morgan said.
Immediately after the incident, Smith was put into segregation. A few days later, he was moved to the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla and remains in a segregated unit, isolated 23 hours a day.
A hearings board penalized Smith with several sanctions, including the segregation, loss of 178 days of good-conduct time, 30 days of general privileges and weight-lifting privileges for two years.
Smith since 1996 has been serving a 26-year term on three counts of assault. His projected release date, which was in 2021, is now in 2022.
So far no criminal charges have been filed. Franklin County Prosecutor Steve Lowe on Thursday said the Connell Police Department hadn't completed its investigation.
"Guy's not going anywhere," Lowe said, "so there's no hurry to get the investigation complete." Lowe said DOC officials told him investigators would have access to anything they need.
The department hasn't changed its policy on smudge pots in prisoners' cells. The pots, used to burn incense and sage in religious ceremonies, may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
"Smudging is still allowed," Morgan said. "There are still questions around this particular smudge pot that are unresolved."
McDonald's release date remains 2016, reduced by three years for good behavior.
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