Temperatures inside the MSDF in Downtown Milwaukee can often reach up to 100 degrees in the summer.
High heat and extreme conditions could be to blame for recent suicide attempts at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), as a correctional officer at the facility confirmed there were two failed suicide attempts earlier in July.
Organizers of the CloseMSDF campaign said temperatures inside the facility, located in downtown Milwaukee, can reach well over 100 degrees in the summer. Inmates complain that temperatures are not monitored, and that there is no outdoor recreation, as inmates are on lockdown for 22 hours a day.
"When it’s 85 degrees and up outside, it is extremely hot, especially in the cell and then the vents blow out hot air,” said Isaiah Marzettte, who has been at the facility nearly a year. Marzette also said officials will turn on bright lights, and not allow inmates ice on hot days.
The CloseMSDF campaign, a coalition of local, state and national organizations, has been pushing for the closure of the facility for years. According to CloseMSDF, 17 people have died at the facility since its construction in 2001.
Organizers of the CloseMSDF campaign have been pushing for the facilities closure for years.
“It should not take people attempting suicide or dying to get humane treatment,” said CloseMSDF organizers in a press release. “Detainees are reporting heat exhaustion due to the extreme temperatures and are being disregarded by staff, as they are told to ‘fill out a blue slip and drink more water.’”
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There are often three people per 11x13-foot cell. Boats, a structure placed on the floor of the cell, are commonly added to make more room within the cell. It was also reported to several CloseMSDF organizers from the families of several people held at MSDF that warm air was blowing out of the vents there, according to a press release.
“The extreme heat in MSDF is putting people's lives at risk,” said Mark Rice, the Milwaukee Campaign Leader for JustLeadershipUSA. Rice also mentioned that EX-Incarcerated People Organizing leader James Wilborn died in MSDF in 2015 due to heat exhaustion. “The extreme heat and the other cruel and unusual conditions in MSDF have caused trauma, harm, sickness, and mental anguish to thousands of people.”
“MSDF staff closely monitor the temperature throughout the building,” said a Wisconsin Department of Corrections spokesperson. “If the heat index (temperature and humidity) rises above 85 degrees, ice is available to inmates on an increased basis, the department encourages inmates not to participate in physical activities and additional showers are offered. Inmates have access to water in their cells and can purchase fans for their cells. The department also regulates the air exchangers (two per floor), which bring fresh air into the building. When the heat index rises above 85 degrees, the Department increases the exchange rate to keep fresh air moving through the building.”
