St. Louis Workhouse


St. Louis Medium Security Institution, commonly referred to as The St. Louis Workhouse is a medium security penitentiary in the city of St. Louis, Missouri that has been the center of many controversies regarding mass incarceration, debt bondage, and human rights within the United States.

History

The structure was built in 1966 and gained its nickname of "The Workhouse" from an 1848 city ordinance that established the local laws for the imprisonment of debtors that permitted the forced labor of inmates to pay a debt.

Controversy

The St Louis Workhouse has been subject to numerous controversies regarding living conditions of prisoners, abuse of incarcerated, and the use of penal labor. The organization ArchCity Defenders filed a class action lawsuit against the facilities describing the living conditions as inhumane.
The lawsuit alleged that the civil rights of detainees within the facility had been violated due to the poor sanitation, limited ventilation, and poor medical care.A significant issue regarded the temperatures within the unconditioned workhouse during the summer months which was alleged to have exceeded 120 degrees. In response to the controversy the city of Saint Louis spent 40,000 dollars to provide temporary portable air conditioning for the prison.

Demonstrations

On Independence Day 2018, the group Close the Workhouse held demonstrations outside city hall in opposition to the inhumane conditions of the prison.