Guards Sue to Ease Crowding at Prison
Guards at Graterford State Prison have sued the state, claiming they are endangered by overcrowding in the nation’s fifth largest prison.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Commonwealth Court, asks the court to order the state to reduce the prison’s population to “safer, more manageable levels.” It also asks for improvements in the prison’s sewage, water and electrical facilities.
The lawsuit is believed to be the nation’s first by prison guards seeking to relieve prison crowding, said Michael Fox, of Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The maximum-security prison northwest of Philadelphia has a capacity of 2,734 inmates. It held 4,212 inmates on Tuesday, including 510 serving life sentences and 24 on Death Row, prison spokesman Alan J. LeFebvre said.
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