Toxic mold, medical neglect, and retaliation ignite new push for accountability at Michigan women’s prison

Momentum is finally building to address longstanding and systemic problems at Michigan’s only women’s prison as state lawmakers, local elected officials, and activists demand answers about mold, medical care, a recent death, and the treatment of a woman whose health has rapidly declined.

Over the past five years, lawsuits, medical records, and internal state reports have documented sexual abuse, toxic mold, unsafe living conditions, retaliation, invasive strip searches, coercive labor practices, freezing temperatures, and failures in medical care at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Township in Washtenaw County, about 40 miles west of Detroit.

Yet Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has not detailed what reforms, if any, are underway and has declined to answer Metro Times’s questions about conditions at the facility for more than a year, and that remained the case this month. 

Fed up with the silence, elected officials and civil rights groups are demanding oversight, accountability, and concrete reforms at the prison, which houses more than 2,000 women. Earlier this month, three Democratic lawmakers visited the prison unannounced on two different occasions, and what they saw has motivated them to demand transparency and change. 

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the bipartisan Michigan House Oversight Committee will hold a public hearing at the Capitol to examine conditions at the facility, along with broader systemic concerns within the Michigan Department of Corrections. 

Lawmakers are expected to review reports of hazardous conditions, deteriorating infrastructure, longstanding complaints about delayed or denied medical care, allegations of retaliation and employee misconduct, and concerns about the use of body cameras during strip searches. The hearing will also examine the recent death of inmate Jennifer Jean Wallace and the worsening health conditions of Crystal Clark, who says she has spent years suffering from exposure to black mold. 

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, is leading the effort to examine conditions at the prison after receiving complaints about the facility and recently visiting it unannounced. 

“I’ve gotten outreach from a number of people — loved ones of people who are incarcerated, and also corrections officers who have concerns about their safety and the safety of the women held there,” Pohutsky tells Metro Times. 

Pohutsky says women are complaining that corrections officers are forcing them to scrub grime, moisture, and suspected mold without the necessary face coverings to protect their lungs. 

“The women who are forced to clean those spaces said they aren’t allowed to wear face coverings while cleaning,” Pohutsky says. “The warden says that’s not true. But I don’t think he’s supervising when corrections offices are telling women what to do. It’s a little suspicious that he can say with certainty that no one is being told they can’t wear a mask, while also saying point-black that there aren’t mold issues.”

An internal MDOC assessment contradicts the department’s public claims that conditions at the prison pose little cause for concern, documenting widespread infrastructure failures that create ideal conditions for mold to grow and spread.

Clark, 41, has been incarcerated since 2011 for armed robbery, and has become the focal point of alarming claims that mold and inadequate care are endangering women inside the prison. Clark says 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. In photos, her face is swollen and contorted. She says mold is growing out of her ears, and she has been denied medical care. Clark claims she is repeatedly retaliated against for blowing the whistle. 

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.

Whitmer has denied mounting pleas to release Clark, who is eligible for parole in May 2027, without any explanation. 

Clark says mold exposure and untreated medical problems are breaking down her body. 

“I’m just so tired,” Clark tells Metro Times from prison. “It feels like my body is going to shut down at any time, and the governor isn’t listening.” 

Clark says her health is worsening and she feels powerless inside a system she believes is punishing her and others for speaking out. After two other Democratic lawmakers visited the prison earlier this month, Clark says she and other prisoners were retaliated against. 

“They made women scrub mold from the ceiling without masks,” Clark says. “They were yelling at them to take their masks off. They did that because the state reps were here. A corrections officer told me the warden was angry about what happened.”

One of the catalysts for the oversight hearing is MDOC’s body-camera policy and allegations that officers recorded strip searches and other moments when they were undressed. More than 500 women at the prison are suing the state for $500 million, alleging they were illegally recorded in what attorneys are calling one of the most egregious privacy violations in the country.

“They were recording strip searches, medical appointments, and other times where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy — yes, even in a women’s prison,” Pohutsky says. “Many of the women have histories of sexual abuse, and this is retraumatizing.”

During her visit, Pohutsky says she walked away alarmed by what she heard about mold, cleaning practices, and access to medical care. 

“I was obviously looking for mold,” she says. “There are a couple of different issues, and it is causing serious health impacts.” 

Pohutsky says she pressed prison officials about why Clark has struggled to see specialists as her condition has deteriorated. 

“There’s a lot of passing the buck,” Pohutsky says. “We’ve seen that a lot with the department. I think this oversight hearing is a great way to get answers.” 

Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr., D-Ypsilanti, and Rep. Donavan McKinney, D-Detroit, visited the prison unannounced on Feb. 5 after lawmakers restored their authority in the budget to show up without notice. Wilson says they initially planned to stay about an hour but ended up spending hours inside after women stopped them repeatedly to describe what they were experiencing. Among their complaints was that their cells and shower water were cold.

“We turned on the shower and it seemed cold,” Wilson recalls. “It never really warmed up unless all the showers were on at the same time.” 

Wilson also says the tour exposed other failures that lawmakers are demanding be addressed immediately, including a pregnant woman who could not get a wheelchair. 

As lawmakers press for oversight, a growing list of outside groups is rallying behind Clark, calling for medical clemency or another mechanism to get her out of Huron Valley. The Ypsilanti City Council approved a resolution in August 2025 urging her early release due to mold exposure and illness. In January, the Detroit branch of the NAACP urged Whitmer to act, warning that Clark’s condition shows “an alarming physical deterioration” and calling for “immediate action to secure the release of Krystal Clark through executive clemency” along with aggressive remediation of mold and a task force to address hazardous conditions. 

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners has also issued a resolution raising alarm about toxic mold, linked illnesses, and systemic failures, specifically highlighting Clark. The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus similarly called for urgent medical intervention for Clark, independent auditing, environmental remediation, and greater transparency at the facility.

The growing calls for reform have been driven in large part by lawsuits that have repeatedly exposed problems inside the prison. In August 2025, women alleged they were required to perform unpaid porter work and described it as forced labor and sex-based discrimination. Two long-running federal class lawsuits filed in 2019 have also continued to draw attention, including one centered on toxic mold and unsafe environmental conditions and another focused on scabies and alleged failures in medical care and hygiene. 

A separate federal lawsuit filed in 2025 by an MDOC employee accused the department and its leadership of sexual abuse, harassment, and retaliation, adding to broader questions about accountability and culture inside the agency.

The prison has a long history of neglect and abuse. In 2009, the state paid $100 million to settle lawsuits that claimed male corrections officers had sexually abused and harassed female prisoners.

The alleged abuse continued after the case was settled. Between July 2018 and June 2019, 146 women said they were sexually harassed and 12 claimed they were sexually assaulted, according to the MDOC.

In September 2019, the prison was closed to visitors because of a scabies outbreak. About 2,000 women were isolated after women began complaining of rashes.

A class-action lawsuit filed in September 2019 alleged a host of problems, including overcrowding, poor ventilation, and leaky roofs that contributed to chronic mold that was making inmates sick.

Pohutsky says that accountability ultimately belongs to the state.

“These are people the state has decided it is responsible for,” she says. “So it’s on us for what happens while they’re incarcerated.” 

She also says Clark’s case should not be treated as an isolated horror story. 

“I want to be cautious about focusing on one horrific, egregious case and acting like that’s the only problem,” Pohutsky says. “But she is not the only person who is suffering.”

Lawmakers say they are no longer willing to accept reassurances that conditions are under control. Wilson put it bluntly in a Facebook video outside the prison after the Feb. 5 visit: “We came up here unannounced, with what power we do have,” he said. “We’re on top of it.”

Clark says she hopes the hearing prompts some serious change. For her, a lot is at stake. 

“Please don’t let them take my life,” she tells Metro Times, sobbing. “Please.”

The House Oversight hearing will be live-streamed at house.mi.gov.

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