By Heather Hollingsworth
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that inmates at a former medium-security jail were housed in “inhumane conditions” that included rodent feces in food, infestations of bugs and snakes, and unbearable overcrowding.
The nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement on Tuesday as it filed a motion in federal court seeking authorization to begin notifying people who were incarcerated at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution that they could be eligible for damages.
Demolition of the troubled jail, known as the Workhouse, began earlier this year. Around 16,000 people jailed there for five or more days from November 2012 through June 2022, when it closed, may be eligible to file a claim if the settlement is approved.
The agreement, signed April 10, said that the city denied any wrongdoing or liability.
Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn into office five days after the agreement was reached, declined to elaborate during a news conference Tuesday. “I can’t really speak to those decisions before I was sworn into office,” she said.
James Cody, who was jailed for eight months on a probation violation, said he often found mouse feces in cake served at the jail. Jail staff would simply scrape them off, he said.
Cody said he was housed in a dorm with 69 other men, all sharing a single working toilet, sink and shower. He recalled the heat of summer, when temperatures inside the jail reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.67 degrees Celsius), according to the lawsuit. The hot conditions led to protests that resulted in city officials temporarily bringing in portable air conditioners.
