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Irregular News for 06.06.06
Albany, NY -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the state prison system's practice of putting two inmates in cells designed for one, saying the double-bunking does not violate the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit, first filed in 1995, claimed that the practice violated the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Inmates at 13 maximum-security prisons argued that they were more likely to be assaulted, faced higher chances of catching a disease and suffered harsh living conditions.
But U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch, in a decision dated May 26, said that simply putting two convicts in a cell designed for one "is a far cry from the `wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain' against which the Eighth Amendment protects."
"Plaintiffs' claims that double-celling subjects them to `the stench of a cell mate's feces and flatulence' ignore the fact that even in a single cell, an inmate would be subjected to the `stench' of his own `feces and flatulence,'" Lynch wrote.
Lynch used basic math namely the Pythagorean theorem to dispute arguments that those sharing cells were forced to sleep closer to the toilet than prisoners in single-person cells. Most of the cells have between 48 and 60 square feet of space.
Corrections Commissioner Glenn Goord said the case illustrated why inmates "should not be allowed to tie up our already overburdened judiciary" with lawsuits.
A spokeswoman for the law firm that represented the inmates said the attorney handling the case was unavailable for comment.
The state in 1995 converted 796 single-inmate cells after county jails complained they were holding convicts who should have been in state custody.
source
Albany, NY -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the state prison system's practice of putting two inmates in cells designed for one, saying the double-bunking does not violate the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit, first filed in 1995, claimed that the practice violated the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Inmates at 13 maximum-security prisons argued that they were more likely to be assaulted, faced higher chances of catching a disease and suffered harsh living conditions.
But U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch, in a decision dated May 26, said that simply putting two convicts in a cell designed for one "is a far cry from the `wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain' against which the Eighth Amendment protects."
"Plaintiffs' claims that double-celling subjects them to `the stench of a cell mate's feces and flatulence' ignore the fact that even in a single cell, an inmate would be subjected to the `stench' of his own `feces and flatulence,'" Lynch wrote.
Lynch used basic math namely the Pythagorean theorem to dispute arguments that those sharing cells were forced to sleep closer to the toilet than prisoners in single-person cells. Most of the cells have between 48 and 60 square feet of space.
Corrections Commissioner Glenn Goord said the case illustrated why inmates "should not be allowed to tie up our already overburdened judiciary" with lawsuits.
A spokeswoman for the law firm that represented the inmates said the attorney handling the case was unavailable for comment.
The state in 1995 converted 796 single-inmate cells after county jails complained they were holding convicts who should have been in state custody.
source