A sewage backup into a Montana State Prison unit lasted for several days last month.
Jan Dunlap says her son in the mental health wing of the prison told her that sewage, including feces, partially flooded the unit.
“My son said that he had sewage on his floor. They were not even given anything to clean it up with,” Dunlap says.
The Montana Department of Corrections confirmed sewage flooded part of the unit Aug. 27 through Aug. 29. DOC says the backup was caused by inmates flushing bedding and other items down toilets.
The agency says it provided cleaning supplies to prisoners. It did not say how many cells the backup impacted.
But Kim Hill, like Dunlap, says her son told her that didn’t happen.
"The inmates were using their bedding and their clothing to try to keep it from coming into their units," Hill says.
The 2023 Legislature gave DOC about $200 million to add over 100 beds to the prison. DOC says it will build those units to make maintenance and plumbing repairs faster and easier.
