Inmates sue over jail conditions

Submitted by anthony on Fri, 2010-04-09 17:47

Story here. Excerpt:

'Eleven inmates have filed lawsuits against the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center in U.S. District Court over living conditions.

Inmates claim they’ve suffered malfunctioning toilets and showers, don’t receive prescription medication in a timely manner and have no emergency call system in their cells, among other things, according to complaints filed between Feb. 16 and March 15.

Robert Hooper, who chairs the Orangeburg-Calhoun Law Enforcement Commission, says some of the issues arose during the 2009 annual state Department of Corrections inspection.
...
Last July, the Regional Detention Center was cited for housing sentenced and pre-trial inmates together. Other violations cited were the lack of two-way emergency intercom systems in individual cells and failure to give inmates required outdoor exercise time due to staffing shortages.

The state fire marshal’s office also cited the detention center for potential fire hazard violations, including the storage of combustible materials in rooms with electrical equipment.'
...
Many of the inmates who sued in federal court are being held for non-payment of child support. Child support inmates usually make up half or more of the total population, which averages about 400 inmates.'

Like0 Dislike0

Comments

In the area of Child Support the parents have the right and obligation to decide what level of support the child or children of the marriage will enjoy, NOT THE STATE.

The only compeling interest the state has in financial support of child or children is the same as in an intact marriage and that is that the minimum level of financial support is met and no more. Any thing else compromises the ethics of the state and turns child support obligations into a racket run for political considerations.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by Luek on Sat, 2010-04-10 04:44