If you thought Baltimore would be a shitty place to be in jail, you were right. Balmer Sun, People detained in Baltimore jail were without running water for days, public defenders say: ‘Inhumane, unsafe’
A Baltimore detention facility was without running water and functioning toilets for days this week, according to the Office of the Public Defender, which alleges the conditions were unconstitutional.
While the water was out at the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center in Baltimore, people were unable to clean themselves and were given “minimal” bottles of water, the office said Friday. In some instances, people were forced to “remain in cells with unflushed excrement for days,” a news release said.
“At times, people were brought to portable toilets while remaining handcuffed so they could not wipe or wash themselves; at other times, they were provided with garbage bags to use as toilets in their cells,” the Office of the Public Defender said in a news release.
Eleven petitions were filed by public defenders on Friday seeking the release of people incarcerated at the facility while awaiting trial. In one provided by the Office of the Public Defender, attorneys describe “deplorable conditions” and argue that the jail is violating detainees’ rights to due process and to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
“When the state holds someone in custody, the conditions must comply with basic human rights standards — and functional plumbing is among the most basic of those obligations,” the state’s public defender, Natasha M. Dartigue, said in the news release. “Depriving people of rudimentary health and hygiene measures is inhumane, unsafe, and well beyond what our society should tolerate.”
Seems to me they should be able to fix a water source issue in a matter of hours. We do for our water company, and we have far less resources than Baltimore.
On the other hand, if you can't stand the smell, try to stay out of jail.
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