For inmates of the St. Louis Medium Security Institution, otherwise known as the Workhouse, this past week’s heat wave has been unbearable. With no air conditioning in most sections of the facility, when temperatures went over 100 degrees outside, they got even worse inside. Dozens of desperate inmates took to their windows for help earlier this week, screaming that the conditions inside the prison were unbearable.
In videos circulated online earlier this week, inmates begged for help, saying: “Let us out!” and “We need water! There isn’t any air conditioning!”
Friday night 200 or more protesters, who caught wind of the deplorable conditions inside, gathered in front of the prison to demand that the inmates be released or relocated until the living situation inside the prison improved.
Earlier on Friday, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed had announced that the city was working on a temporary, 1-month deal to air-condition the Workhouse, with money from the city’s emergency funds. But for those protesting on Friday evening, this was just a temporary solution to a much larger problem.
Demonstrators carried signs condemning the prison system and shouted, “No justice, no peace, free them from the heat.” They also brought pots and pans along, using them to bang on the barbed wire fence separating them from inmates inside the building. As the protesters chanted, people could be seen silhouetted inside the prison windows, watching and chanting back.
“I’m here today because making a mistake does not mean you do not deserve human dignity. A lot of people inside there have not even been convicted of a crime yet, but they are being denied basic necessities,” said protester Mahina Nightsage.
Many other locals echoed her concern about the conditions of the prison and about what they believed was gross neglect on behalf of state and local officials.
Marc Thompson said he joined the protest to show inmates that people on the outside cared about them.
“I believe that if these prisoners hadn’t advocated for themselves by screaming for help, they would have been living in these conditions all summer,” Johnson said. “It worries me because in heat like this people can get seriously ill and even die. Prisoners are not a priority to the state, so they have just been left to suffer silently.”
Senator Jamilah Nasheed was on the scene, however, to prove to her constituents that there were people in the government that heard their concerns and cared.
“The people in my district are upset and outraged,” Nasheed said. “They do not understand why these people, some who haven’t even convicted, have to endure such harsh conditions. They want to see these people treated humanely, and so do I.”
About 98 percent of the people in the Workhouse are pre-trial, meaning they have not been convicted of any crime, according to Arch City Defenders.
Nasheed claimed that she had been inside the building recently and that the facility needed much more than just air conditioning. She said the prison, which was built in 1966, was “unclean” and had “deteriorated” over the years. Nasheed shared that she sent a letter to Governor Greitens detailing what she believed must be done to right this wrong.
“I want the governor to do three things: Tour this facility, request an audit by the Missouri Department of Corrections, and review the finances between the State of Missouri and the City of St. Louis Corrections Divisions to see if any funds to correct this issue that can be found,” said Nasheed.
Mayor Lyda Krewson was not in attendance but issued a statement the day of the protest. In that statement she cited a 2015 bond issue that voters rejected that would have improved the prison and installed air conditioning. According to Krewson, without those funds the city must seek alternatives to fix this issue. A spokesman for the mayor claimed that the city is currently negotiating a contract to bring air conditioning to the facility but has not yet closed the deal.
Despite efforts by elected officials to reassure citizens, tension at the protest was still extremely high. Protesters joined together to shake the outer fence. Some even found a way under the fence and gained access to the prison grounds. As they did so, dozens of policemen gathered. They took out their riot shields and batons, and pushed the protesters back.
Chontol Calvin, who was pepper sprayed along with her two friends, stated that the protest “was never violent. We were just banging pots and yelling.”
“There was no rhyme or reason for riot police to be there. It felt antagonistic. We were nonviolent,” said Calvin.
Calvin stated that around 9 PM the police who were guarding the fence began to push protesters, screaming profanities at them telling them to “move back”. At the same time, a large portion of the group protesting left, because the police had brought several tow trucks and were towing the cars parked around the prison area.
“The reason why police started spraying was because when they were pushing against the group [of protesters], everyone watching from the side ran to that one cluster and started pushing them off of people,” Calvin said. “Then they started spraying and dropping cans.” Calvin also said she was one of many protestors being hit with batons.
“We hadn’t got more violent, nothing had changed. We’d been doing the same stuff all night,” said McKenna Burton, another protester who was pepper sprayed. Several protesters took pepper spray to the face, and stumbled off of the prison grounds.
Directly following this incident, protesters were given two minutes to leave the property and told that the event had become an unlawful demonstration. All protesters were pushed off the property of the prison, though many remained in the street nearby. Vehicles were towed, multiple people were pepper sprayed and one was arrested.
“We were like, where are my people, where are my friends?” said protester Emma Sue Harris. Then the riot police came, and the pepper spray hit. “And then it turned into, we’re all each other’s people,” Calvin said.
There is another protest at the Workhouse planned for tonight.
