Inmates at a Missouri prison have filed a lawsuit claiming they're suffering from life-threatening extreme heat in their un-air-conditioned cells during the summer. The suit claims that the sweltering heat violates the Missouri Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Without court intervention, it is not a question of whether someone will get sick and die due to heat-related conditions," the suit reads, "but rather when."
Algoa Correctional Center in Missouri is one of four prisons in the state where none of the housing units have air conditioning. And, due to the building's design, it is frequently hotter inside the prison than outside. Even at night, temperatures remain high because the building continues to release daytime heat. While the prison has some practices for helping inmates deal with extreme temperatures, the suit claims they are ineffective.
