An NYC prison is the subject of a lawsuit after a power outage subjected its inmates to a weekend without electricity, heat, and hot water during the coldest days of the year.
Current Events
Detainees inside the Bureau of Prisons federal detention center in Brooklyn were held inside cold and dark cells last Saturday and Sunday while outside temperatures dropped dangerously near zero degrees. The NYC prison inmates were forced to huddle under towels and newspapers in failed attempts to protect themselves from the frigid freeze. Regrettably, the lack of light inside the facility prevented guards from moving prisoners to a different facility out of fear of safety.
The Federal Defenders of New York (a nonprofit group that represents low-income people accused of federal crimes) filed a lawsuit on Monday, claiming the federal Bureau of Prisons lied during a Sunday press release when it said all inmates received medical attention and that heat in the building was not affected by the weekend power outage.
“Lighting is down. No light in the cells. All locked down since Thursday night. That’s going on for at least 36 hours. When the sun goes down it’s pitch dark. Inmates who have medical conditions can’t read the instructions on the medications,” David Patton of Federal Defenders said.
The lawsuit says the organization is requesting a hearing to “evaluate the conditions of confinement that are infringing the constitutional rights of inmates at the MDC and require the Defendants to supply information about those conditions” and appoint a “special master” to inspect the facility and “undertake the fact-finding necessary to determine whether Defendants are protecting the constitutional rights of inmates in their custody.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the allegations against the NYC prison a violation of human decency and dignity for the inmates and is likely illegal.
“Prisoners in New York are human beings. Let’s treat them that way,” Cuomo said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James added in a statement, “It is unacceptable, illegal, and inhumane to detain people without basic amenities, access to counsel, or medical care.”
In reference to the lawsuit and the horrific public outcry, federal officials delivered assuring news on Monday to the general public.
“The electrical power at the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility at MDC Brooklyn was restored at approximately 6:30 p.m., Sunday evening,” US Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said. “With the heat and hot water operational, and the restoration of electrical power, the facility can now begin to return to regular operations. In the coming days, the department will work with the Bureau of Prisons to examine what happened and ensure the facility has the power, heat and backup systems in place to prevent the problem from reoccurring.”
In the words of Ricky Ricardo:Â “Somebody’s got some ‘Splanin’ to do!”
I did not hear anything about this but glad I did now. Somebody could have died in that type of cold weather but I understand too they could not really move anybody because it was too dark. This looks like it was a big mess from start to finish. They need a plan in place for next time something like this happens.