Three men were arrested after breaking into an abandoned jail and accidentally locking themselves in one of the cells in St. Louis, Missouri.
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The incident occurred Thursday night when the three men broke into the Medium Security Institution, also known as the “Workhouse.” Police received a 911 call from the jail and helped the men out of the cell before arresting them for trespassing and the trio will possibly be charged with burglary, stealing, and property damage.
According to KSDK, the jail remained vacant for more than a year, and the last inmates were moved out by 2022 after Mayor Tishaura Jones announced it would be shut down due to allegations of inhuman conditions. A lawsuit was filed in November 2017 where six plaintiffs accused the jail’s administration of forcing them to live in flooding, sewage, insect, and rodent infestation.
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There were two other instances where detainees had to deal with extreme temperatures and screamed for help as they endured the jail’s inhumane and deplorable conditions, according to a press release from the Arch City Defenders.
“The Court certified two classes of individuals (one for pretrial detainees, and one for post-conviction inmates) who were held at the Workhouse between November 13, 2012 and July 1, 2018.The Court also certified heat-related damages subclasses for individuals detained in the Workhouse between November 13, 2012 and July 24, 2017 on days when the temperature in St. Louis exceeded 88 degrees Fahrenheit. During an extreme heatwave in July 2017, video footage of detainees yelling for help from inside the Workhouse made national news.”
The press release also said that Mayor Tishaura Jones has advocated for the closure of the jail, and it was initially scheduled for repairs, but it has been vacant for now.
