Inmates sue Canyon County over jail mold

The Idaho ACLU is representing inmates suing Canyon County in federal court over conditions at the county’s overcrowded jail amounting to cruel and inhumane treatment. Since 2001, the jail has exceeded its 361-person capacity. Conditions include inadequate ventilation and temperature control, inadequate fire protection, inadequate recreation equipment, inadequate plumbing, inadequate medical care and is unsanitary and filthy. The ISA report from July 2008 found the jail was humid, smelly and had mold. One individual testified a “housing unit has been given only bleach to clean mold twice in the past eight months.”