Delaware Inmates Claim Pepper Spray Decontamination Withheld (1)

Eight Delaware inmates are suing the state corrections commissioner over her alleged practice of allowing guards to pepper spray prisoners without providing decontamination care.

Correctional officers’ routine use of oleoresin capsicum spray violates Department of Correction policy and the state constitution’s bar on cruel punishment, American Civil Liberties Union attorneys said in a proposed class action filed in the Delaware Chancery Court.

“Delaware correctional officers do not decontaminate individuals after they use OC weapons, instead leaving them to marinate in the chemical residue for hours, days, or weeks,” the complaint said, alleging that pepper spray is ...