Current:Home > MyAs temperatures soar, judge tells Louisiana to help protect prisoners working in fields -NextFrontier Finance
As temperatures soar, judge tells Louisiana to help protect prisoners working in fields
View
Date:2025-04-11 13:32:12
Amid blistering summer temperatures, a federal judge ordered Louisiana to take steps to protect the health and safety of incarcerated workers toiling in the fields of a former slave plantation, saying they face “substantial risk of injury or death.” The state immediately appealed the decision.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, giving the state department of corrections seven days to provide a plan to improve conditions on the so-called Farm Line at Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola.
Jackson called on the state to correct deficiencies, including inadequate shade and breaks from work and a failure to provide workers with sunscreen and other basic protections, including medical checks for those especially vulnerable to high temperatures. However, the judge stopped short of shutting down the farm line altogether when heat indexes reach 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 degrees Celsius) or higher, which was what the plaintiffs had requested.
The order comes amid growing nationwide attention on prison labor, a practice that is firmly rooted in slavery and has evolved over the decades into a multibillion-dollar industry. A two-year Associated Press investigation linked some of the world’s largest and best-known companies – from Cargill and Walmart to Burger King – to Angola and other prison farms, where incarcerated workers are paid pennies an hour or nothing at all.
Men incarcerated at Angola filed a class-action lawsuit last year alleging cruel and unusual punishment and forced labor in the prison’s fields. They said they use hoes and shovels or stoop to pick crops by hand in dangerously hot temperatures as armed guards look on. If they refuse to work or fail to meet quotas, they can be sent to solitary confinement or face other punishment, according to disciplinary guidelines.
As temperatures across the state continue to rise, “dealing with the heat in Louisiana has become a matter of life and death,” Jackson wrote in his 78-page ruling. “Conditions on the Farm Line ‘create a substantial risk of injury or death.’”
Lydia Wright of The Promise of Justice Initiative, an attorney for the plaintiffs, applauded the decision.
“The farm line has caused physical and psychological harm for generations,” she told the AP, adding it is the first time a court has found the practice to be cruel and unusual punishment. “It’s an incredible moment for incarcerated people and their families.”
Ken Pastorick, a spokesman for Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said the department “strongly disagrees” with the court’s overall ruling and has filed a notice of appeal with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We are still reviewing the ruling in its entirety and reserve the right to comment in more detail at a later time,” he said.
—-
Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/
veryGood! (44)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- NBA trade grades: Lakers get a D-; Knicks surprise with an A
- How much are 2024 Super Bowl tickets? See prices for average, cheapest and most expensive seats
- Arizona faces Friday deadline for giving counties more time to count votes
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- In rural Utah, concern over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithium
- The FCC says AI voices in robocalls are illegal
- Baby zebra born on Christmas dies at Arizona zoo
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Google is rebranding its Bard AI service as Gemini. Here's what it means.
Ranking
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Deadly military helicopter crash among many aviation disasters in Southern California
- SEC reported nearly $853 million in revenue in 2023 fiscal year, new tax records show
- New Justin Hartley show 'Tracker' sees 'This is Us' star turn action hero
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Boy’s death at therapy program didn’t appear natural, but sheriff says they’re awaiting cause
- A West Virginia ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ is an effort to suppress transgender people, critics say
- Federal trial of former Memphis officers in Tyre Nichols beating death pushed back 4 months
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
The first tornado to hit Wisconsin in February was spotted
US water polo star prepares for Paris Olympics as husband battles lung cancer
NFL Awards Live Updates | Who will win MVP?
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
Tennessee authorities search for suspect in shooting of 2 sheriff’s deputies
Man ticketed for shouting expletive at Buffalo officer can sue police, appeals court rules
Devin Hester makes history as first return specialist selected to Pro Football Hall of Fame