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| Court rules Fla. death row temps aren't too hot |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/16/2004 |
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A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit that claimed conditions on Florida's death row were unconstitutional because temperatures routinely topped 100 degrees. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Constitution "does not mandate comfortable prisons," rejecting a class-action lawsuit that claimed the heat on death row forced inmates at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford to stand in toilets, drape themselves in wet towels and sleep naked on concrete floors. The lawsuit was filed four years ago by the Florida Justice Institute in Miami. The agency's attorney, Peter Siegel, said the organization has not decided whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Atlanta-based appellate court, in a ruling last Friday, found the heat is not excessive because the prison is equipped with a ventilation system that manages air circulation and humidity. Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said the agency was "extremely pleased" with the court's decision. Hannah Floyd, director of the Florida Death Row Advocacy Group, criticized the ruling as inhumane, saying "people in this nation have to realize that prisoners, including the ones on death row, are humans and should be treated as such." The Florida Attorney General's Office, which represented the state in the appeal, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Only six of the 52 major prisons in Florida have air conditioning in their main inmate units. |
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