Advocates for the inmates said the incident was a protest over prison conditions, including the excessive heat, limited access to showers and ice and unclean drinking water. A US National Weather Service heat advisory is in place until Tuesday for the area, warning temperatures could reach up to 100F (37.7C)…

The DOC says the prison is short of 50 officers, which has been exacerbated by the holiday weekend, leading to intermittent lockdowns of inmates since Friday. It means prisoners have been kept in their cells for longer periods, reportedly with no air conditioning…

DOC commissioner Paul Schnell said inmates were usually given several hours a day during the weekend for recreation, but holiday-related staff shortages had cut that down to just a single hour.

Jesus, I can’t imagine how dehumanizing it must be to be locked up for 23 hours of the day in the blistering heat and not even have access to clean water