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| Wisc. appeals ruling on prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/29/2003 |
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State officials appealed a federal court order last Tuesday that requires the Department of Corrections to air-condition cells at the state's toughest prison in time for the first heat wave of 2004. The state also asked U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb to put her order on hold while it seeks to have the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago overturn the decision. "The Constitution does not require air-conditioned prisons. Indeed, prisons need not be comfortable," the state's attorneys argued. Crabb made her ruling earlier this month after holding a hearing on whether the state is complying with a 2002 court settlement it reached with inmates who sued over living conditions at the prison. Attorney Ed Garvey asked Crabb in October to direct the Corrections Department to comply with the settlement's terms. The prison in Boscobel, now renamed the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility, was designed to house the state's most hardened criminals. The settlement required the Corrections Department to change the name, build outdoor exercise areas and expand face-to-face visits with friends and family members. It also requires that cells be no hotter than 80 to 84 degrees during heat waves. Corrections officials supplied prisoners with ice chips, shorts and cool showers last summer. Crabb said while those efforts may alleviate the effects of high temperatures, they do not meet the settlement's requirements. The state argued Tuesday the prison can keep inmates cool with ways other than air conditioning. State officials have estimated it would cost $700,000 to install air conditioning at the prison. The state's attorneys also argued the judge's order is too broad in calling for air conditioning of all cells. The evidence presented in the case shows only inmates on psychotropic drugs are at risk of harm from excessive heat, the state claims. Garvey, who represented the prisoners in the lawsuit, said the state is trying to back out of an agreement it negotiated. While the settlement does not specify the state must install air conditioning, corrections officials acknowledged doing so was the only way to comply with the temperature ranges included in the settlement. |
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