As summer temperatures rise into the 90s, more than 1,000 Iowa prisoners and correctional officers are sweating it out without air conditioning.
Prolonged heat waves behind bars can cause heat stroke and exacerbate chronic conditions like asthma, heart ailments and arthritis. Studies also showprisons without air conditioning are more violent.
For years, the Iowa Department of Corrections has been asking lawmakers for funding to install air conditioning at the Anamosa State Penitentiary and the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility – prisons that regularly house more than 1,000 men each…