Minnesota Prison Placed on Emergency Lockdown Due to High Heat
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison has been put on emergency lockdown following a refusal by approximately 100 inmates in a housing unit to return to their cells amid dangerously high temperatures. The incident took place on Sunday and has been described by one former inmate as an act of “self-preservation.”
At present, the situation is “currently stable,” according to a spokesperson from the Department of Corrections. The reason behind the inmates’ refusal to return to their cells remains unclear.
However, advocates stationed outside the Stillwater prison, some of whom have family members inside, claim that the inmates are fed up with the excessive heat, lack of access to showers and ice, and unclean drinking water.
The inmates have been under intermittent lockdowns since Friday due to staffing issues, resulting in them being confined to their cells, which reportedly do not have air conditioning. Stillwater prison is located in Bayport, approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Minneapolis, which was under an afternoon heat advisory with temperatures nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius).
Marvina Haynes from Minnesota Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform, whose brother is an inmate at Stillwater, stated that her organization received calls from inmates starting at 6:30 a.m. David Boehnke from Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee reported that the inmates decided not to return to their cells this morning and added that lockdowns have been occurring on and off for the past two months.
Bart Andersen, the executive director of the union representing Stillwater’s correctional officers, commented that the incident is indicative of chronic understaffing within the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Andersen further emphasized that these conditions upset inmates due to restrictions on program and recreation time when there are insufficient security staff to protect the facility.
Haynes, Boehnke, and Cathy Stroud Caldwell all asserted that the inmate action was a spontaneous response to unsafe conditions. “They didn’t have time to organize and plan,” Haynes explained. “It was just … we’re not going back to that hot cell with no drinking water and not being able to shower.”
Across the country, intense heatwaves have raised concerns for prison populations, particularly those confined in poorly ventilated or air-conditioned facilities.
Thankfully, two officers from Stillwater correctional facility were reported to be safe in a secure control area and in contact with facility staff. No injuries have been reported thus far.
The state Department of Corrections has activated a crisis negotiation team, and the Special Operations Response Team has been deployed “out of an abundance of caution.”
According to department records, the facility currently houses around 1,200 inmates and was constructed in 1914.
Kevin Reese, founder of the criminal justice organization Until We Are All Free, described Stillwater as a “pizza oven” during the summer months. Reese himself was incarcerated at the facility from 2006 to 2009 and highlighted the lack of air conditioning in the 100-year-old building, stating that “the walls actually sweat.”