For more than a decade, Krystal Clark has warned that mold inside Michigan’s only women’s prison is killing her.
Now, she is pleading directly to the people with the power to free her.
In a 13-minute audio recording from inside Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, the 41-year-old sobs as she begs Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Director Heidi Washington to intervene before it is too late.
“I am begging for my life,” Clark said through tears.
The audio, released by her advocates, comes just a week after state officials announced the release of several incarcerated people, a move Whitmer said was part of broader reforms of “a justice system that treats all Michiganders fairly under the law.”
Clark said she is genuinely happy for those who are going home, but she cannot understand why she remains behind bars as her health continues to deteriorate.
“They know my life is in jeopardy,” Clark said in the video. “They’ve known. And they’re still choosing to leave me here.”
Clark has been incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility since 2011 for armed robbery. She said she has spent years suffering from exposure to black mold that has left her struggling to breathe, partially paralyzed, and unable to walk without assistance. Medical records, court filings, and a federal judge’s ruling have raised serious questions about the prison’s conditions and the state’s response.
In photos, her face appears swollen and contorted.
In July 2025, Metro Times reported that a federal judge found conditions at the prison so severe they may violate the Constitution. U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III wrote that the facility is “infested with mold” that eats through brick and metal, drips from ceilings, and falls from air vents. The judge cited allegations that the mold has caused “respiratory infections, coughing, wheezing, rashes, dizziness, and fatigue,” and said the symptoms were severe enough to meet the legal threshold for cruel and unusual punishment.
Murphy highlighted claims that the prison has excessive moisture and lacks proper ventilation, becoming a breeding ground for mold.
Murphy’s ruling stems from a 2019 lawsuit filed against the MDOC by Clark and inmates Paula Bailey and Hope Zentz, who allege the prison is “operating under a state of degradation, filth, and inhumanity, endangering the health and safety of incarcerated women.”
According to medical records previously obtained by Metro Times, testing in 2023 identified Aspergillus, a potentially life-threatening fungus, in Clark’s ears and lungs. An allergy specialist diagnosed her with mold-related growths in her ears in 2022, but prison officials repeatedly denied her requests to return to the specialist for treatment. Clark also suffers from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart condition that complicates her respiratory illness.
In the newly released video, Clark said prison medical care has been grossly inadequate.
“The medical care is ridiculous and disgusting,” she said. “They barely even know anything. How did they even get licenses?”
She said she lacks even basic hygiene supplies, including soap, and accuses prison officials of downplaying her condition, covering up evidence, and portraying her as mentally unstable.
“Everything is being covered up,” Clark said. “Being made to be like I’m crazy, and nothing is wrong — when y’all know the truth.”
Clark addressed Whitmer and Washington directly, saying both officials are aware of her condition. She said Washington personally visited the facility and reviewed her records.
“You came and you saw me for yourself,” Clark said in the video. “You seen it. You seen the records.”
Clark repeatedly asked why she has not been released or transferred to a hospital when her condition is documented and worsening.
“I deserve to be free,” she said. “Not saying that other people don’t deserve to be free too. But why am I not on that list?”
Her advocates said the answer points to a broader failure of accountability.
“You cannot champion releases publicly while knowingly leaving someone to die in custody,” Trische Duckworth, executive director of Survivors Speak, said in a statement. “That is not reform. That is selective mercy.”
Jay Love, a criminal justice advocate who has worked closely with Clark, said the situation has become life-threatening. Clark, she said, was recently denied a breathing treatment while struggling to breathe.
“She doesn’t have a death sentence,” Love previously told Metro Times. “But MDOC has given her one with this mold.”
The department has repeatedly denied that Clark is being neglected. In an earlier response to Metro Times, the department said it cannot comment on individual cases but insisted incarcerated people receive “a consistent community standard of care.” Assistant Attorney General Joshua S. Smith wrote in 2024 that Clark’s medical needs were being “adequately addressed,” based on conversations with MDOC officials.
Smith also noted that Clark would be required to pay upfront for medical transportation and custody costs to see outside specialists, which is nearly impossible for most incarcerated women, who typically earn pennies per hour.
In the recording, Clark said she has been fighting for her health and freedom for 16 years and refuses to stop, even as her body weakens.
“I’m not a threat,” she says. “I would never hurt nobody.”
Much of the video is prayer. Clark repeatedly asked God to intervene since state officials have not, and she broke down as she talked about her children and her mother.
“I just want to hug my mother again,” she said. “I just want to be alive.”
Clark’s supporters are calling on Whitmer to grant her medical clemency or order her immediate transfer to a hospital outside the prison. Her clemency application remains pending.
As the audio ended, Clark was still crying.
“I feel like I won’t make it if I don’t get the help,” Clark said.
Metro Times is awaiting a response from Whitmer and MDOT.
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