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Expert: Low-tech A/C units reducing heat at La. prison

Judge Brian Jackson ordered corrections officials in 2013 to prevent heat indexes on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola from topping 88 degrees

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In this May 9, 2011 file photo, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is seen in West Feliciana Parish, La. (AP Image)

Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — An air conditioning expert appointed by a federal judge has testified that a portable air conditioner consisting of an ice chest, fan and duct has a high potential for success in helping to drop the extreme heat indexes on Louisiana’s death row that threaten three ailing condemned killers.

The Advocate reports Shane Hernandez, a professional engineer and A/C expert in Lafayette, told Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson Monday the low-tech units placed outside the inmates’ cells work.

Jackson ordered state corrections officials in December 2013 to prevent heat indexes — a measure of temperature and humidity — on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola from topping 88 degrees.

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