New York used drug tests that gave incorrect results: 1600 people were affected

The New York City prison system has unfairly punished more than 1600 inmates on the basis of erroneous drug tests, reports The New York Times... Inmates were placed in solitary confinement cells, and parole hearings were postponed. They were denied access to their relatives. This was stated by the inspector general of the state of New York in report published on January 4th.

Arbitrary punishment was applied statewide for eight months in 2019. All the while, the Department of Corrections and Community Oversight has relied on Microgenic's incorrect drug test results. Tests have led to "runaway false positives" for buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat addiction, and synthetic cannabinoids.

“This is a heartbreaking example of how a lack of transparency can undermine due process and fundamental human rights,” Inspector General Lucy Lange told a January 4 news conference.

Why the number of positive results has skyrocketed

As noted in the message, the department began using tests in January 2019. The manufacturer's instructions indicate that positive result must be confirmed by a second, more sensitive test. But the officials did not do it as part of politics. Instead, they simply ran the same test a second time to confirm the results.

The report indicated that the number of positive tests immediately jumped sharply. But the department refused to eliminate common fears among prisoners and their families about false positive results.

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The report provides several examples of the harsh effects of tests on prisoners. One woman at Albion Correctional Facility, near Rochester, New York, suddenly tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids, although she had never used drugs for two years in prison.

As a punishment, she was detained in a cell for 40 days and placed in solitary confinement for 45 days. She lost her job in prison and privileges such as rest time, receiving parcels, and using phone for several months. She was also denied visits from her three children.

Microgenics officials and representatives accused

Representatives of Microgenics are also accused of providing false or misleading information to prison officials. A review of the company's internal documents showed that even taking over-the-counter antacids and the sweetener stevia could potentially lead to false positives. But the company did not disclose this information, the report said.

In the report, department officials are accused of choosing to drop the second test. The Microgenics sales representative is found to have over-influenced the process.

He also found that the contract with the company most likely violated procurement guidelines. The Department “did not exercise due diligence in contracting with Microgenics for its drug testing systems. The department did not understand that such tests were just preliminary screening tests. "

Over the course of eight months, more than 1600 inmates across the state were sentenced, Lang said. Of these, 140 were subjected to solitary confinement, leading to complaints from inmates across the state.

"The consequences of punishment can hardly be overestimated"

The New York City Inmate Advocacy Group has filed complaints with four inmates with the department. The complaint stated that they were disciplined on the basis of false results. Later that summer, the department sent six positive samples from other inmates to another company for retesting, and five were negative.

The department then passed on its findings to the office of the inspector general. The department later removed more than 2500 disciplinary records based on erroneous drug tests.

Karen L. Murtagh, executive director of the New York City Prisoners' Legal Service, said the consequences of punishment were hard to overestimate.

Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, an advocacy group that seeks to disrupt the prison industry, said the report illustrated the inherent challenges in enabling private companies to profit from incarceration. She called for further revisions of prison contracts.

In a January 4 statement, department staff spoke about working with the investigation's inspector general and accepted all of his recommendations. This includes ending solitary confinement and improving training in drug testing and data collection.

Microgenics denies any guilt

Microgenics is a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Massachusetts-based company. In a January 4 statement, Ron O'Brien, a spokesman for the company, said the instructions clearly state that drug tests are preliminary only. A more specific alternative chemical method must be used to obtain a confirmatory result.

“We have complete confidence in our product, and when it is used as intended, we have no reason to believe there is any problem with its accuracy,” O'Brien said.

He added that the company has conducted its own investigation. They do not believe that Microgenics representatives provided "any willfully false or misleading evidence" in disciplinary hearings.

The drug tests sparked a number of lawsuits, including a federal class action lawsuit filed by Prisoners' Legal Services and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel's law firm in 2019. In 2020, New York Attorney General Laetitia James filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Department of Corrections against Microgenics in Albany, alleging breach of contract. The claim is pending.

The department currently uses a preliminary drug test known as the Premier Biotech Bio-Cup. Positive results are confirmed by the second method.

Lang said more than half of the complaints she receives in her office are about the prison system. “We are committing resources to addressing these complaints as proactively as possible,” she said.