By Brian Bowling

Published: Monday, January 28, 2013, 8:46 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A York County man claims in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Pittsburgh that the Department of Corrections is violating the civil rights of several thousand inmates by refusing to treat their hepatitis C based on the length of their prison sentences.

Jason E. Runkle, 25, of Red Lion says in the proposed class-action lawsuit that he is serving a sentence of 18 months to five years at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer for his conviction on robbery and related crimes.

Because he received credit for time served, his minimum sentence was less than one year, so prison officials refused to provide further diagnosis and treatment after he tested positive for hepatitis C, the lawsuit says. Depending on the genotype, the treatment for hepatitis C takes either 24 weeks or 48 weeks, according to the lawsuit.

With an estimated 12 percent to 35 percent of inmates infected and more than 51,000 people in Pennsylvania's prisons, the policy affects as many as 17,850 inmates, the lawsuit says.

A Department of Corrections spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment.

Brian Bowling is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.

1. Kovacevic: The smartest man in hockey
2. ESU faculty warned of potential layoffs
3. Plenty of activity at Butler-Freeport trail
4. Automated teller machine fees up 20 percent in 5 years
5. Penguins far from satisfied after Game 2
6. Report reviews women’s status at PSU
7. Kansas City museum plans to fly ‘Connie’
8. Ex-Philadelphia officer once hailed as hero faces charges
9. Vegas investors to raise a glass to atomic history
10. Navy dolphins find rare torpedo built in the late 1800s
11. Penguins notebook: Malkin makes points run

There are currently no comments for this story.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.