Fox43, 12/17/24: “Former inmates at Dauphin County Prison filed a federal class action lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that prison leadership created inhumane living conditions for over a month last year.

The lawsuit, submitted to the Middle District of Pennsylvania court, outlines a series of grievances and seeks to hold the prison accountable for its treatment of incarcerated individuals.

The incidents detailed in the lawsuit reportedly occurred between November and December 2023 while the incarcerated individuals were held in the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU), a common area in correctional facilities intended to separate inmates from the general population and limit their privileges.

However, the lawsuit alleges more than just the loss of privileges; it claims inmates’ basic rights and needs were disregarded by the prison officials.

The individuals responsible for the lawsuit claim that officers confiscated essential legal paperwork, religious and educational texts, and communication tools, alongside personal items like extra clothing and hygiene products that the incarcerated individuals had purchased.

Individuals’ access to necessities such as toilet paper, water and medications was also inconsistent or denied by officials, according to the lawsuit. The document also claims that prison leadership cut off power and heat to the RHU during freezing temperatures, forcing inmates to endure intolerable conditions for extended periods.

Margo Hu, one of the attorneys representing the former inmates, described the dire circumstances in the RHU.

“Temperatures were regularly freezing, if not below freezing,” Hu remarked, noting that without electricity prisoners lived in complete darkness for up to 17 days, with no access to light for 14 hours each day.”

View the story here.