Alabama inmate ‘baked to death’ in prison cell, says lawsuit

‘He had dreams of obtaining his freedom, joining his mother and starting a new and productive life’

Thomas Lee Rutledge died of hyperthermia on Dec 7 2020 (Alabama Department of Corrections)

A prisoner “baked to death” in his prison cell, with his internal temperature soaring to 109 degrees, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.

Relatives of Thomas Lee Rutledge allege the 44-year-old perished while being held in the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, according to the Associated Press. They also claim that staff and employees within the Alabama prison who controlled the jail’s heating system were negligent.

“He was housed on a mental health ward, where inmates were confined to their cells around the clock, including eating and bathing in their cells. His death was the direct result of the deliberate indifference or malice of the prison officials, corrections officers, and maintenance personnel at Donaldson, and of the negligence and/or wantonness of the contractor entities,” the says the lawsuit filed by his sister.

It says that on the night of  Dec 7 2020, the temperature in the ward where the prisoner was being held had soared. The lawsuit alleges prison staff knew of the problems with the heating system in the mental health unit before his death.

The Associated Press said an investigator who was present that evening after Rutledge’s death commented in a recorded interview that when he opened a tray door to speak with another inmate, it was “hotter than three hells”.

While staff claimed they had performed checks on the inmates, there was no record in their notes of the high temperatures.

“However, Rutledge was already suffering from life-threatening heat distress at this point, as at 8.20pm an inmate runner reported to the cube officer Sansing that Rutledge was non responsive,” the lawsuit says.

He later died of what was termed “hyperthermia.”

The US Department of Justice has an ongoing lawsuit against the state over prison conditions and mentioned the hyperthermia death in a court filing last year as an example of the “serious risks posed by dangerous conditions at Alabama’s prisons for men”.

Rutledge had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1995 for offences committed when he was a juvenile.

He was hopeful for a new chance at life after a Supreme Court decision held that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders were unconstitutional, NBC News reported earlier this month.

Had he lived, he would have become eligible for parole and possible release in 2024, the lawsuit says.

It adds: “He had dreams of obtaining his freedom, joining his mother in Alaska, and starting a new and productive life.”

The Alabama Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to enquiries from The Independent. The department reportedly told AL.com that it could not comment while litigation was pending.

An Alabama-based-heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company,  P&M Mechanical Inc., also did not respond to inquiries. However, the company responded to the complaint, per NBC News and alleged that Rutledge’s death was not a result of any actions by the company and that “they didn’t have sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations regarding whether his death was the result of indifference or malice from prison workers and maintenance personnel.”