Right now,something alarming is happening at Michigan’s Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Michigan’s only prison housing women.

 

Since May 13, 2026, five women incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley have died. Their names and dates deserve to be remembered:

 

Khaira Howard, 28 — May 13, 2026

Rebecca Fackler, 57 — May 17, 2026

Ashley Hoath, 36 — June 6, 2026

Dalephenia Jones, 62 — July 2, 2026

Dasie Forbes, 69 — July 23, 2026

 

These are not simply numbers. They were human beings with families, loved ones, stories, and people waiting for them to come home.

 

Ashley Hoath, just 36 years old, died on June 6 at Trinity Health Hospital several hours after being transferred from the facility’s medical unit. Michigan Department of Corrections records state that investigations and mortality reviews surrounding multiple deaths remain ongoing.

 

Dalephenia Jones, 62, died at Trinity Health Hospital on July 2 after being transported there from Women’s Huron Valley following a medical emergency.

 

Dasie Forbes, 69, died at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital on July 23 after being hospitalized since July 11. MDOC described her death as expected because of multiple chronic, complex, life-limiting illnesses.

 

Five women. Seventy-one days. Five families left grieving.

 

And while the circumstances surrounding these deaths are not all the same, the number of deaths in such a short period demands transparency, careful investigation, and answers.

 

This is not the first time concerns have been raised about healthcare, safety, and living conditions at Women’s Huron Valley. Families, advocates, incarcerated women, and lawmakers have continued to call attention to these concerns.

 

This issue is personal to me.

 

I have family who have experienced incarceration within Michigan’s correctional system, and I have personally witnessed what I believe was unjust treatment and inadequate access to medical care involving Women’s Huron Valley. I know firsthand that these concerns are not simply statistics or headlines. They affect real people and the families who love them.

 

I am speaking up because incarceration should never mean losing the right to be treated with dignity or having serious medical concerns ignored.

 

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for humane treatment, transparency, accountability, and answers.

 

WE ARE DEMANDING:

 

• A transparent and independent review of the recent deaths at Women’s Huron Valley.

 

• A thorough examination of the medical care provided to each woman before her death, including whether serious symptoms and requests for medical attention were appropriately addressed.

 

• Meaningful oversight of the facility’s healthcare system and emergency medical response procedures.

 

• Investigation into reported environmental, health, and safety concerns within the facility.

 

• Greater transparency and timely communication with families when serious medical emergencies or deaths occur.

 

• Accountability when policies, procedures, or individual actions fail to protect incarcerated women.

 

• Timely access to appropriate outside medical evaluation and treatment when medically necessary.

 

• Public disclosure of investigation findings and meaningful reforms resulting from those investigations, while respecting medical privacy and legal requirements.

 

The women incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley are still human beings. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, friends, and loved ones.

 

Their sentences should not be a death sentence.

 

We cannot wait until another family is standing at a funeral asking whether their loved one could have been saved.

 

Five deaths in just over two months demand attention. Families deserve answers. Women deserve dignity. Michigan deserves accountability.

 

Sign this petition to demand transparency, independent oversight, meaningful medical reforms, and accountability at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.

 

100 signatures is only the beginning. Every signature helps amplify these concerns and bring this issue to the attention of decision-makers who have the power to demand answers and create change.

 

Please sign. Please share. Please help make sure these women and their families are not forgotten. ❤️