Angola prisoners ask to end field work in worst heat

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Prisoners filed an emergency motion about working in the summer heat, as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit to end the “Farm Line” — forced agricultural labor at the prison, for little or no pay.

On Tuesday, lawyers representing people locked up at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola urged a federal judge to halt operations of the Farm Line any time the heat index rises above 88 degrees.

“Beginning as early as this month, temperatures on the Farm Line are expected to routinely reach or exceed safe levels, creating a serious risk of injury or death to even the healthiest of individuals and an even greater risk to those with underlying health conditions,” attorneys for the prisoners wrote in a court filing in May.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson heard oral arguments from lawyers for the Louisiana Department of Corrections and the Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI), who represented Angola inmates.

When prisoners are forced to work on the Farm Line, they are rarely given breaks or drinking water and lack necessary equipment, their lawyers said.

Also, many incarcerated people have medical conditions that make them vulnerable to heat related illness — but they are not exempt from work on even the hottest days, PJI lawyers said,

There are other hardships as well. Though other agricultural workers in Louisiana work alongside modern farming equipment, prisoners on the Farm Line are forced to “grub in the dirt with bare, ungloved hands.” When drinking water is provided – and often it’s not – “it is dirty and full of insects; the men drink it ‘just to stay hydrated and avoid passing out,’” the filing claims.

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The lawsuit describes how prison labor works at the penitentiary. Everyone incarcerated at Angola is forced to work on the Farm Line at some point. The first three years, they basically work for free because it takes three years for a prisoner to “become eligible” for compensation. After three years, they start at two cents an hour for any work they perform.

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But prisoners say that the policies meant to protect them are insufficient and sometimes aren’t followed. “There is no shade, and breaks are infrequent, short, or non-existent. Sunglasses, sunhats, or sunscreen are not provided,” the filing reads.

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