ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A court-appointed expert says Bernalillo County jail inmates in segregation units are being denied their required out-of-cell time for not making their bed properly, yelling repeatedly or otherwise misbehaving.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Manuel Romero testified Tuesday that corrections officers also have withheld out-of-cell time without getting prior approval from a supervisor. Under a court order, such inmates in solitary confinement are supposed to get about an hour a day outside their cells.
Attorneys for inmates are asking U.S. District Judge James A. Parker to impose substantial fines for failure to comply with his orders from last year. The orders were intended to improve conditions in the jail as part of a longunning civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates.
An attorney for the county says the jail has made a number of improvements.
