SHELBY COUNTY, Ky. — Amid high temperatures and blistering humidity, the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women has been experiencing air conditioning issues. 

What You Need To Know

  • A woman who is incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women said its air conditioning has been out since Aug. 2

  • The only area of the prison that is without AC is the main building annex, where some women are housed 

  • The woman at KCIW said women have been using wet rags to stay cool, and some did not have access to fans over the weekend

  • A vendor will go to the prison Tuesday, Aug. 6 to assess the situation; in the meantime, some fans have been installed 

A woman who is incarcerated in the prison said the AC has been out since Friday, Aug. 2. 

“We just need some help in here,” said the woman at KCIW, who requested to stay anonymous.

The air conditioning is only out in the main building annex, said the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which houses some women.

“It started this week and then they fixed it once," the anonymous source said. "It broke again; then it broke again Friday, and then they said they would fix it for us, but we had to go all weekend without it." 

Lottie Tanner of ABLE said she's worried about these AC problems. 

“Our concern is the fact that people are stuck in, basically, a hot box,” Tanner said.

The anonymous source said several women didn’t have access to fans over the weekend.

“We’re sitting around with wet rags on us right now,” she said. “We’re all burning up. They won’t do nothing for us.”

Kungu Njuguna, the ACLU of Kentucky’s policy strategist, shared his thoughts on the conditions at the prison.

“We believe everyone has a right to inherent dignity and respect,” Njuguna said. “Even though these individuals are incarcerated, the state has an obligation to care for them, and we will always make sure that the state is doing that and hold them accountable when they’re not.”

The air conditioning issues at KCIW appear to be a recurring issue for this particular facility.

“This happens all the time,” the anonymous source said. “It goes in and out all the time.”

“These women are just frustrated,” Tanner said. “They’re tired of dealing with this. Every year, dealing with this ... and there are other institutions that don’t have this problem.”

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said a vendor will be at the prison Tuesday, Aug. 6 to look into the AC issues. Fans have been installed in the meantime.

Related Stories