Federal lawsuit says Alabama inmate 'baked' to death in cell

Alabama correctional officers are being sued after an inmate 'baked to death' in an over heated prison cell that was 'hotter than three hells.' 

Thomas Lee Rutledge, 44, died on December 7, 2020 when his body temperature reached 109 degrees. 

Rutledge was found unresponsive in his cell at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility mental heath ward in Bessemer as temperatures in his confinement reached 101 to 104 degrees, according to the coroner's report.

Before Rutledge's death, inmates had complained about extreme temperatures but were ignored and instead forced to stay in their rooms 'around the clock, including for eating and bathing.'

His family has since filed a lawsuit - with the latest complaint issued on November 30 - accusing staff of deliberately causing his death.

Thomas Lee Rutledge, 44, died in his Alabama prison cell on December 7, 2020 when his body temperature reached 109 degrees

Rutledge was found unresponsive in his cell at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility mental heath ward in Bessemer. Pictured: William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility

Clark Hopper, an investigator on site when Rutledge died, said he went to the inmates cell to chat with him around 8 pm - but when he opened the meal door, it was like 'opening an oven.' 

'When he dropped his... meal door... it was hotter than three hells when it dropped,' Hopper told CBS News.

Hopper had checked on Rutledge after another inmate reported that he was unresponsive. 

Prior to Rutledge's death, the correction facility had new air conditioning systems installed in 2019 and 2020 by P&M Mechanical, according to the news outlet.

The lawsuit filed by Rutledge's sister argued that the mental health ward T Unit - where the inmate was staying -  had its air conditioner controls tampered with and wasn't apart of the new updates.

The filling alleges that one week before Rutledge died that inmates were ordered to stay in their cells and 'attempted to limit the heat output in their cells by stuffing clothing in vents to reduce the heat output.'

At the time of his death, Rutledge was taking medication that could have increased the chances of him getting sick from the heat. 

Officers were supposed to check to make sure that temperatures in the T Unit didn't rise above 85 degrees, but failed to do so on the day Rutledge died in the 104 degree heat.

Christie Sansing, G. Griffin and J. Rodgers were all supervising the 96 inmates in the T Unit when Rutledge died in 2020.

His family has since filed a lawsuit accusing staff deliberately causing his death and ignoring the complaints of inmates warning about the extreme heat. Pictured: William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility

Billy Kennedy, a maintenance supervisor at the jail, allegedly discovered that the AC controls for the T Unit was destroyed, ignored the finding, allowed for the system to reach more than 130 degrees and destroyed the temperature logs, the lawsuit claimed. 

Kennedy denied the accusations that he intentionally harmed Rutledge. 

The air conditioning company is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and is accused of 'negligently or wantonly damaged or destroyed the thermostatic controls for T Unit.'

P&M Mechanical insisted their worker's actions didn't result in Rutledge's death despite the lawsuit claiming that their work contributed to 'unregulated heating to T Unit,' the news outlet reported.

The lawsuit accuses staff of ignoring the signs of a broken air conditioning system and for not fixing it leading up to Rutledge's death

Rutledge inmate had been in prison since he was 17-years-old in 1995.  He was convicted of murder in 1993 when he shot Kevin Edwards and Radshaw Whitman, according to AL.

The inmate was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, but when the Supreme Court ruled that such a sentencing for juveniles was unconstitutional, he hoped for a second chance.

'He had dreams of obtaining his freedom, joining his mother in Alaska, and starting a new and productive life,' the filing read.