Inmate at Huron Valley Correctional Facility suffering from infection as advocates seek clemency

More disturbing allegations out of Huron Valley Correctional Facility

Advocates of inmates at Huron Valley Correctional Facility shared more disturbing details about the treatment of those incarcerated, including one whose alleged health issues have spiraled since she first came to the prison.

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - When Jay Love spoke to Krystal Clark, an inmate at a women's prison near Ypsilanti in Southeast Michigan, she heard breathing issues on the other end of the phone call.

It's part of an escalating battle Clark has fought as her health has faltered while incarcerated at the prison, and the latest in a series of disturbing allegations coming from the facilty.

Big picture view:

"She was really out of breath. She was asking for a breathing treatment," said Jay Love, describing her recent phone conversation with an inmate at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility.

Both Love and Tische Duckworth have been fighting to get clemency for Krystal Clark, as well as better medical care for the inmate who has been incarcerated since 2012.

They're not just armed with jail call recordings, but a photo of Clark at the beginning of her sentence. 

"I see dogs that are treated much more better than the women - not even the women but in the Michigan Department of Corrections as a whole," said Duckworth.

That's because a recent photo of Clark shows her face drooping, the product of an untreated black mold infection, according to Survivors Speak, the advocacy organization that Love and Duckworth are a part of.

Two photos of Krystal Clark, one from when she was first incarcerated at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility and a more recent photo. 

What they're saying:

Seeing her sister's health falter breaks Tyronda Clark's heart.

"I can’t help my sister. I can help somebody else’s, but I can’t even help my own. It hurts," she said. "To hear my sister complain about people who are in the medical field, who are not helping her just because she’s incarcerated or won’t give her the proper healthcare. It’s very heartbreaking."

Dig deeper:

Both Love and Duckworth have tried helping Krystal Clark, going so far as to seek clemency from the governor.

Love says an application is on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk.

" We’re asking - or begging the governor to please look over that, to grant her clemency so she can get the proper health care outside of MDOC," she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for MDOC said the department can't share health information of its inmates, but that it checks the facilities routinely. 

The statement continued: "We take the health care of incarcerated individuals very seriously and provide a consistent community standard of care which includes access to onsite medical staff, outside specialists when needed, and quality medications and medical equipment."

Zoom Out:

In early May, the Huron Valley Correctional Facility and the Michigan Department of Corrections was named in a $500 million lawsuit.

The attorney representing hundreds of women inmates says his clients were recorded naked during strip searches, showers, and bathroom breaks by guards.

Attorney Todd Flood said the guards used body cameras purchased with money from the Michigan Legislature.

"I can't imagine what trauma they have to go through," he said on May 6.

What you can do:

Survivors Speak is hosting a rally in support of Krystal Clark on June 20 in Ypsilanti. For more information, scan the QR code in the image below.