PROTEST AT WOMEN’S HURON VALLEY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY FOLLOWING MULTIPLE DEATHS AND WORSENING MEDICAL CRISIS
Dana Nessel and Gretchen Whitmer
We are absolutely horrified that the women who lead our state, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and AG Dana Nessel have for years now ignored the plight of our sisters at Women’s Huron Valley, as well as thousands of others inside MDOC. Nessel never kept her campaign promise to juvenile lifers. Whitmer refused to release prisoners dying from COVID-19. JAIL THE REAL CRIMINALS IN WHV NOW! Diane Bukowsk, editor, Voice of Detroit.
Story below by Trische Duckworth
Survivors Speak
May 20, 2026
YPSILANTI, MI — Community members, advocates, formerly incarcerated women, faith leaders, and concerned residents gathered May 20 outside of Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (3201 Bemis Rd., Ypsilanti, MI) to demand immediate intervention regarding what organizers describe as dangerous and life-threatening conditions inside the prison.
The protest comes amid growing outrage following the deaths of Khairi Howard and Rebecca Fackler this week, as well as the worsening medical condition of incarcerated woman Krystal Clark, whose supporters say has suffered years of exposure to black mold and severe medical neglect while housed inside the facility.
Organizers state that the demonstration is intended to bring public attention to ongoing reports of unsafe living conditions, lack of adequate medical care, environmental hazards, and alleged systemic neglect impacting women incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
“This is not just about one person, it never has been, as Krystal has sounded the alarm for everyone, all while her own condition is worsening,” said Trische Duckworth, Founder and Executive Director of Survivors Speak. “Women are suffering. Families are grieving. We are calling on elected officials, oversight bodies, and the broader community to stop ignoring what is happening behind those walls.”
“We at Workers Against Oppression are heartbroken and disgusted by the abhorrent conditions at the Huron Valley Women’s Correctional Facility,” said Zane Parker of WAO. “This protest is being held to demand that our representatives listen to their constituents and do everything in their power to urge Gretchen Whitmer to grant medical clemency to Krystal Clark. We are also demanding that the grotesque conditions faced by the people in the facility be fully investigated and corrected, and that any person complicit in the facility’s criminal conditions be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to advocates, Krystal Clark’s health has continued to decline, and supporters are urgently calling for:
- Immediate medical clemency for Krystal Clark
- Independent third-party inspections for mold and environmental hazards
- Transparency surrounding deaths, medical emergencies within the facility
- Legislative and federal oversight investigations
- Emergency action to protect women currently housed at WHV
- The protest flyer also encourages community members to contact state and local officials demanding accountability and immediate intervention.
SURVIVORS SPEAK AND WORKERS AGAINST OPPRESSION CALL ON MEDIA TO PUSH BEYOND POLITICAL NARRATIVES AND DEMAND TRUTH
By Trische Duckworth<trische_d@survivorsspeak.info>
May 22, 2026*
FIRE MDOC Director Heidi Washington
YPSILANTI, MI — As legislators now publicly call for the resignation of Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington, Survivors Speak is urging journalists and news outlets not to allow years of warnings, evidence, and survivor testimony to be erased or politically repackaged.
For more than four and a half years, those housed inside WHV, Survivors Speak, impacted families, formerly incarcerated women, advocates, and community members have consistently sounded the alarm about the dangerous and unconstitutional conditions inside Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV).
Today, as public pressure mounts and political leaders begin to distance themselves from the crisis, Survivors Speak is calling on the media to push deeper, ask harder questions, and center the facts that have long been available.
“We cannot allow this moment to become political theater while women continue to suffer behind those walls,” said Trische Duckworth, Executive Director/Founder of Survivors Speak. “The evidence has existed. The testimonies have existed. The warnings have existed. Women have been crying out for help for years.”
Survivors Speak is specifically asking journalists to continue investigating and publicly examining the following:
- The State’s own Building Report documenting horrid and hazardous conditions inside Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
- Federal court findings in which a judge cited harmful and unconstitutional conditions impacting women housed at the prison.
- Medical records connected to incarcerated advocate Krystal Clark reportedly documenting exposure to mold, including Aspergillus.
- Recent medical visit notes showing Krystal Clark’s continued physical decline, including worsening conditions involving her ears and overall health.
- Advocates are also urging members of the media, if granted access inside the facility, to request to see and speak with Krystal Clark directly and to ask questions about the ongoing conditions women are enduring daily.
Trische Duckworth, Jay Love
“This is bigger than one resignation,” said Jay Love, host of Turning A Moment Into A Movement/President of Survivors Speak. “Women have suffered. Women have died. Families have begged for intervention. If accountability is finally being discussed publicly, then the full truth must also be discussed publicly.”
Advocates believe that journalists have the power to elevate the voices of incarcerated women and expose conditions that many believe have been ignored for far too long.
“We are asking media outlets to use their platforms courageously,” said Duckworth. “Your reporting could help save lives. Your questions could force transparency. Your coverage could become the conduit to freedom, accountability, and protection for many women still trapped in these conditions.”
Survivors Speak and Workers Against Oppression continue to call for transparency, independent oversight, accountability, and immediate intervention regarding conditions at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
For interviews, testimony, supporting documentation, or additional information, please contact: Trische Duckworth
Executive Director, Survivors Speak
(734) 834-4736
www.survivorsspeak.info
<trische_d@survivorsspeak.info>
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