Angola Farm Line case remains in legal limbo as temperatures rise

BATON ROUGE — Inmates at Angola who work on the Farm Line, where they grow crops by hand, are caught in a battle between activists and state officials over how to deal with Louisiana’s dangerous heat.

Lawyers for some of the inmates filed a federal lawsuit against the state in an effort to give them more protection during the hottest seasons.

US District Judge Brian Jackson issued a temporary injunction on July 2, restricting inmates from working when the heat index reaches 88 degrees. Three days later, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that injunction until July 19.

According to News 2’s Storm Station data, over the past 30 years, the heat index in Baton Rouge reaches 88 degrees or higher about 20 percent of the time between 8 a.m. and noon. But between May and September, at that time of day, Baton Rouge reaches that heat index 48 percent of the time.

Lydia Wright, Deputy Director of cangry One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys and one of the lawyers involved in the lawsuit at the Promise of Justice Initiative said she will fight for lasting change.

Wright said the temperature threshold is the point at which serious damage can occur to a person’s body.

Wright also questioned the value of the work on the line, which she said seemed intended to continue the work. In the past, slaves were forced to perform.

“If their farmland was intended to support the institution and provide fresh produce for people to eat, wouldn’t the prison be using modern farm machinery, like tractors, to grow those crops? They would, but they don’t,” she said.

The Department of Corrections declined to answer questions about the work at the Farm Line, citing a policy that prohibits discussing ongoing litigation. The department’s court filings state that the facility grows fruit that is harvested for inmates to eat, and that inmates eat fresh vegetables at least twice a day.

The document also states that more than 200,000 pounds of fresh vegetables will be distributed to LSP kitchens by 2023. It also states that the vegetables will not be sold on the open market and that LSP does not make any profit from agricultural production.