Florida accused of "deliberate indifference" to inmates in sweltering heat at Miami-Dade prison, lawsuit says
TALLAHASSEE — Accusing the state of "deliberate indifference," a federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that sweltering heat in a Miami-Dade County prison unconstitutionally violates inmates' rights and amounts to "cruel and dangerous conditions in confinement."
The Florida Justice Institute filed the lawsuit, which seeks certification as a class action, against the state Department of Corrections on behalf of inmates at Dade Correctional Institution in Homestead.
The lawsuit, filed in the federal Southern District of Florida, in part accuses corrections officials of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws by failing to make "reasonable accommodations" for elderly inmates and sick inmates.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs pointed to data about rising temperatures in the Miami area.
"Temperature and heat index records are being broken every year, at an alarming rate," the lawyers wrote, adding that there is "broad scientific consensus" that the heating trend will continue.
The prison has been designated as a facility that houses people with disabilities, and more than half of the inmates are over age 50, the lawsuit said. Officials have refused to record temperatures inside the prison, which can house up to 1,500 inmates, according to the lawsuit.
The 63-page lawsuit said "dangerous heat" in unairconditioned dormitories at the prison is exacerbated by "unventilated, contaminated air" and inadequate access to cool water.
Inmates have resorted to building "air tunnels" out of "cardboard, plastic, or whatever materials they can find" to place over small windows or vents in their cells, but the air tunnels are considered contraband and are confiscated by guards.
"The heat is sweltering, and people confined there sweat profusely, even right after showering. The ventilation system barely moves the air, and people struggle to breathe. It is akin to being locked in a parked car in the midday tropical heat," the lawsuit said.
The plaintiffs, in part, are asking the court to order corrections officials to "develop and execute a plan that remedies and abates the plaintiffs' serious risk" of heat-related harm.