By Elena Barrera | October 31, 2024
Tallahassee Democrat
A new lawsuit is aiming for a big chill.
After what was a disappointing legislative session for prison reform advocates, Florida inmates are still sitting in cells without air-conditioning — and advocates Thursday filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state.
On behalf of three inmates from Dade Correctional Institution — Dwayne Wilson, Tyrone Harris and Gary Wheeler — and all those incarcerated, the Florida Justice Institute wants to require the Department of Corrections to mitigate inmates’ “risk of harm due to the heat index and lack of ventilation.”
“This plan could include (but not be limited to) the installation of air conditioning or other measures thatmaintain the heat index in the Dade CI dormitories at safe levels,” the complaint says.
During this year’s session, several bills aimed to improve conditions across the DOC, including legislation (SB 296, HB 181) that would have made air-conditioning mandatory in every housing unit in all Florida correctional institutions.
Now the nonprofit institute, which litigates and advocates for criminal justice reform as well as homelessness and disability access, is looking to accomplish what lawmakers didn’t.
“A successful lawsuit would unlock systemic change, compelling the Department of Corrections to address and mitigate the severe risks being faced,” a news release says. State agencies generally do not comment on pending litigation.
Session recap: Florida lawmakers won’t hear bills to improve state prison conditions this session
More: Beating the heat behind bars: The effort to add air conditioning to Florida prisons
The Institute said it believes the sweltering conditions in which inmates are forced to live is directly denying their rights “to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.”
In Homestead, just south of Miami where Dade Correctional Institution is located, the heat regularly exceeds 100 degrees, according to the complaint.
The hot air is “stagnant, fetid and contaminated with rust, bacteria and mold,” the filing says. These conditions are causing inmates at the South Florida prison to “suffer, fall ill and die, while the (department) ignores their pleas for relief.”
“Florida is the literal ground zero for climate change, and incarcerated individuals represent the most forgotten segment of our vulnerable communities,” the release says. “Shockingly, Florida is one of only 13 without consistent access to universal air conditioning in state-run prisons.”
Report reveals three-quarters of Florida prisons don’t have air conditioning
Last November, a report was released from KPMG, which the DOC hired to devise a prison system “master plan.” It discovered that 75% of all housing units lack air-conditioning, among other concerns, and estimated it will require between $6.3 billion and $11.9 billion over the next 20 years to give the system its overdue makeover.
KPMG advised the state that adding air-conditioning would help lower the risk of class-action lawsuits stemming from having inmates confined without adequate cooling, but also would improve correctional officer retention, as previously reported.
The DOC has been in a staffing crisis over the last several years, and the administration has been working to fill the labor shortages. Meantime, Gov. Ron DeSantis called in the Florida National Guard, and hundreds of guard members have been mobilized in nine select institutions since October 2022.
Background: From behind bars: Inmates weigh in on National Guard’s presence amid understaffing crisis
The National Guard has been kept working in the prisons until December by a new executive order DeSantis signed June 6 — the fourth extension of the original executive order that was issued in late 2022.
“A further extension (of the original executive order) is necessary because ongoing staffing shortages, although much improved, continue to threaten the safety of officers, inmates and the public,” the latest order says. “The temporary assistance of the Florida National Guard has proven necessary for the care, custody and control of inmates.”
KPMG Managing Director Bill Sizic said while pay raises might have some impact on employee retention, many people have “walked the floor in those facilities on those 100-plus-degree days, and it’s very difficult.”