Multiple inmates at Heritage Trail Correctional Facility claim they are still struggling under oppressive summer heat despite recent air conditioning repairs at the private prison southwest of Indianapolis.
One of the wings at the prison in Plainfield lost air conditioning the week of July 21, according to Indiana Department of Correction spokesperson Annie Goeller. The AC is now functional in the wing that houses 187 inmates, but is undergoing additional repairs to ensure it's "operating as efficiently as possible," she said.
Some inmates held in the wing's second floor who spoke with IndyStar described suffering health complications, such as feeling sick and struggling to breathe as maintenance continues. Goeller said she did not know when repairs would be completed.
Near record-breaking moisture levels this summer in Central Indiana have combined with hot July and August temperatures to make it especially difficult for those without air conditioning to cool down at night, the National Weather Service of Indianapolis said.
In late July, inmates in the impacted wing claimed that guards prevented them from filing official grievances over the conditions. They also said they held at least two protests regarding the extreme temperatures.
While AC is not required under Indiana or federal law, correctional officers cannot be deliberately indifferent to the needs of prisoners, said Stevie Pactor, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. There's a constitutional issue when administration isn't acting to remedy the suffering of its inmates, she said.
More: 'I'm crying as I write this': Inmates in sweltering heat say prison breaking rules
Does the AC work at Heritage Trail Correctional Facility?
After repairs began in dorms No. 3 and 4 last week, inmates said their windows were screwed shut. Temperatures inside the building's second floor have exceeded 90 degrees according to a thermometer on the wall, an inmate who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation told IndyStar.
Inmate Tayler Beemer said he feels unwell and struggles to breathe through the thick, hot air.
When the AC was completely inoperational, Trenten Strawmier of dorm No. 8 messaged his wife goodbye, believing the heat would kill him. The AC in dorm No. 8 is working again, he and another inmate said. Goeller denied it was ever broken.
"There are 100 grown men locked in a airless, hot, miserable building all day long," said inmate Kyle Ketcham. “I've done enough time in enough places to know that this cannot be legal.”
One inmate on the second floor of dorm No 3. and 4 said he spoke with contractors who told him the building's AC motor was underrated for the system's size. Goeller said there was an issue with the system's compressor in late July.
Goeller said AC stopped working in dorms No. 3 and No. 4 the week of July 21. Some inmates told IndyStar that hot conditions inside those dorms had persisted since last summer.
Prisons are designed with thick walls and few air vents to discourage trouble from inmates, said Miriam Northcutt Bohmert, associate professor of criminology at Indiana University Bloomington. That makes cooling the buildings difficult, she said.
Inmates said correctional officers have repeatedly dismissed their concerns about the heat and declined to give inmates grievance forms as required by IDOC rules. Inmates said they've had to go to higher-up officers to get the paperwork needed to officially lodge their concerns.
Inmates said guards often belittle their concerns and tell them they shouldn't have ended up in prison.
"If you mention any problems we just get called b------ and losers by the staff," Ketcham said.
Goeller said IDOC officials have not received any official grievances related to temperatures at Heritage Trail.
Molly Timperman, spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Administration, said the deptartment, which privdes support to other state agencies, received and responded to two grievances associated with Heritage Trail. However, she said they are not subject to public release and did not specify if the grievances were associated with temperatures inside the prison.
IndyStar reached out to the DOC Indiana Ombudsman Bureau multiple times for comment. As of publication, the bureau had not responded to questions on whether the agency opened any line of inquiry into inmate concerns at Heritage Trail.
Criminology expert Northcutt Bohmert said the Ombudsman's office was likely grossly underfunded and understaffed based on the other state agencies she's worked with.
"I'm wondering what else is happening behind the scenes that has allowed this problem to persist," she said.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Inmates say Indiana prison's AC fix failing under brutal summer heat
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