In May, Margie Ryder pleaded with a federal judge for emergency medical relief, claiming Virginia prison officials were threatening her life by mismanaging essential medication at the Fluvanna Correctional Center where she was incarcerated.
Less than two months later, she was dead while waiting for a ruling.
Ryder, 40, died July 8 at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond. The cause was pulmonary hypertension due to end stage lung disease, according to the local medical examiner’s office. She was set to be released next month after serving for felony embezzlement.
A week before Ryder’s death, a fellow inmate, 27-year-old Ashley Carr, died at the Fluvanna prison of a drug overdose. Then Lori Graham, 49, died there last month.
The string of deaths this summer at Fluvanna is nothing new. A federal judge cited frequent deaths at the prison when he issued an injunction in January saying officials there were not upholding their constitutional medical duties.
Attorneys with the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center — who represent plaintiffs in a yearslong battle with the Virginia Department of Corrections — had filed the emergency relief motion in May on Ryder’s behalf, seeking immediate changes to her care.
“I live in fear every day that a nurse will make a mistake in my medication, or a piece of equipment will break without a backup available, and that it will kill me,” Ryder wrote in a supporting statement. “I am not a doctor, but I tried hard to do everything I could to participate in my care and keep my body healthy.”
She died while waiting for a decision, but her attorneys are still pushing for the systemic changes the motion could bring — some of which are already supposed to be happening under a federal settlement agreement from years ago that state officials are appealing in court.
“Ms. Ryder’s experience is a perfect life and death example of broader problems that have persisted at Fluvanna,” said Shannon Ellis, an attorney with the legal center. “Most noticeably continuity of supply of medication, continuity of supply of important medical equipment and timely access to emergency care when needed.”
Spokespeople for the state corrections department did not respond to a request for comment this week.
Ryder was hospitalized in July a few days before her death, Ellis said. Her attorneys are still investigating the situation but find the circumstances concerning.
She “suffered a great deal during her time at Fluvanna and she made her case for justice and her needs before the court in May,” Ellis said. “To have her pass away before the judge could rule on her plea for help was devastating.”
The emergency motion had centered around what attorneys argued was mismanagement of Remodulin, a medication administered through a heart pump for a form of high blood pressure that affects the lung and heart arteries. She was hospitalized several times since arriving at Fluvanna early last year for what attorneys said were delays in receiving or improper mixing of the Remodulin.
The struggle between women incarcerated at Fluvanna and the state corrections department began in 2012 when a group of inmates sued the department over insufficient medical care. The prison has been under a federal court order since 2016, when it reached a settlement designed to bring up the level of care to the bare minimum at the prison — which did not admit wrongdoing. Attorneys for the inmates have since argued the prison is not upholding its terms, and in January a federal judge agreed. The state is now appealing that decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Among its terms, the settlement agreement stated that if a medical emergency poses “substantial threat of immediate harm” to any prisoner at Fluvanna, plaintiffs can seek immediate enforcement of its terms. Ryder’s attorneys argued she fell into that category.
Doctors from the University of Virginia had testified they were increasingly concerned about her treatment at Fluvanna.
Attorneys for the corrections department at the time said in court documents that several of Ryder’s arguments were moot and not sufficient for emergency action. Replying to Ryder in court documents, state officials focused on the timeline of her claims, arguing the incidents she listed happened mostly last year and earlier this year. The state’s attorneys noted the medical unit has updated its processes for routine lab work and patient assessments as well as yoga “to enhance wellness.”
It’s too late for Ryder, Ellis said, but the string of deaths this summer “should set off alarm bells for everyone.”
Ryder’s “particular medical situation was unique to her. But the problems she faced are not unique.”
They’re still waiting for word on the motion.
Katherine Hafner, 757-222-5208, katherine.hafner@pilotonline.com