Young Black Inmates Allegedly Suffering Inhumane Conditions, Scorching Heat At Louisiana Prison

According to a federal court filing, young inmates in a Louisiana prison are not only suffering through treacherous summer heat but reside in psychologically scarring isolation and have a lack of basic services such as clean water and schooling.

Advocates are requesting that the youth be moved to a facility in better condition and away from the prison the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, a former death row prison, the Associated Press reports.

The paperwork, filed in Baton Rouge, claims officials had not kept promises to place inmates in a constitutionally acceptable facility, which was supposed to happen in spring 2023. Now, advocates for the juveniles are requesting that an order to end the housing of juveniles at the Angola facility be placed and the young inmates moved.

“Defendants promised safe and sanitary conditions. Defendants broke that promise, locking children in barred cells with only a metal bed and metal toilet/sink, unclean faucets, and no drinkable water source, and allowing excessive heat in the housing areas to go unremediated during this hot summer in Louisiana,” the juvenile advocates stated.

Attorneys working with the American Civil Liberties Union and other inmate advocates supplied affidavits from three youths who are or have been housed at the facility. They spoke of foul water from unsanitary faucets in their jail cells and inedible food. One inmate accused a correctional officer of slamming him against the wall and stated that he was overcome by a chemical irritant that had drifted from another part of the jail when it was used on another prisoner.

The heat was unbearable: temperatures in southeast Louisiana regularly went above 100 degrees and sometimes as high as 130 degrees.

A medical expert said the prolonged solitary confinement of the youths can cause a “significant risk of serious psychological harm.” Another expert said there are physical and psychological dangers of keeping them in un-airconditioned cells with unreliable fans.

“The youth at OJJ Angola Unit are at substantial risk of serious physical and psychological harm due to their extensive and continued exposure to high temperatures and heat index during the summer months in Louisiana,” Dr. Susi Vassallo wrote.

In summer 2022, a lawsuit was filed questioning the ability to protect the juveniles and provide them with needed services at the prison.

“Given the fact that 83% of youth in OJJ’s secure care system are Black, it is statistically likely that Black youth will disproportionately suffer the brunt of the Governor’s transfer plan,” stated the attorneys in the lawsuit.