Inspection finds jail too hot

XENIA, Ohio (AP) -- An inspection by an attorney showed that temperatures in the overcrowded Greene County Jail often exceed 100 degrees.
State law mandates that temperatures should not exceed 85 decrees, said an attorney representing inmates.
Greger said Thursday that his inspection revealed the jail is too crowded and too hot -- conditions he says violate a 1989 consent decree to improve the jail.
Greger filed a motion asking why county officials "should not be held in contempt of court for failure to abide by the terms" of the consent decree.
U.S. District Judge Walter Rice said he ordered Thursday's inspection after receiving complaints about jail conditions.
A hearing on the matter was scheduled to be held today in Rice's court.
Can't afford it
Greene County commissioners W. Reed Madden and Marilyn Reid said the county cannot afford to install air conditioning. The county estimates it will cost $600,000 to retrofit the jail with air conditioning and required windows.
"We have elderly people who can't leave their homes who don't have air conditioning," Reid said. "I had calls from people who are pleased to see we don't make the jail too comfortable."
Greene County Sheriff's Maj. William Harden, jail administrator, said the facility has between 143 to 145 inmates daily, which exceeds the maximum of 130.
Harden said inmates are released using the emergency overcrowding release mechanism outlined in the agreement, but even after that the jail still has around 134 inmates.