The Hernando County Jail's myriad maintenance issues are apparently no one's fault, and everyone's. The jail had been inspected by numerous agencies over the past few years, none of which found major maintenance issues (even though it is now estimated that it will cost $2 million to repair). Even the Amercian Correctional Association, an "independent" jail/prison accreditation agency, found them to be in 100% compliance with their mandatory standards (and more than 97% compliance with the non-mandatory ones). But the fact remains that the facility is a conditions lawsuit waiting to happen. I note the ACA here because they inspect and then accredit a lot of private prisons, and people seem to think that means the facility is being operated in a humane fashion. Well it appears from this case, and the holdings of numerous courts around the country, that accreditation by ACA is not equivalent to providing constitutionally-acceptable living conditions.
For more on how everyone is passing the buck: http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/apr/14/warden-county-knew-about-jail-defects-least-one-ye/
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