Inmate With Paraplegia Suing St. Louis Jail For Depriving Him Of Proper Hygiene

Inmates need to bathe when needed and this includes those suffering from disabilities. In the case of 39-year-old Anthony Tillman who is suffering from paraplegia, the need to get a decent batch since he arrived in October has been hard to come by.

Currently one of the inmates at the St. Louis Jail, Tillman has not been able to bathe or clean himself properly for more than five months now due to lack of wheelchair-accessible showers. A requirement for detainees to bathe at the facility is to step to get into the shower. The jail is not equipped with bars or rails, the lawsuit read.

Instead, Tillman was given a washbasin and rag. The problem is because of his condition, he is unable to reach some parts of his body. This places him at risk of infection since he is dealing with injuries resulting from a fall in the jail shower during a prior stint at the facility.

Tillman has a bullet dodged in his back from a 2017 shooting. He has sought the assistance of nurses but has been allegedly denied and told that it was not a long-term facility and that he talks to his attorney. The 39-year-old tried to file a grievance but corrections officers denied his request.

The lawsuit singled out that the city of St. Louis is violating the II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by not providing wheelchair-accessible showers at the jail.

"I just want to be treated fair, like how everyone else is supposed to be treated. I am disabled and I want to be accommodated," Tillman stated. "I'm speaking out and telling my story because if someone else who is paraplegic finds themself in the same situation, they should not have to experience what I've experienced."