New policy, Alabama Dept of Corrections
US District Judge Myron Thompson ruled last year that leaving Alabama inmates who refuse to work handcuffed to posts in the hot sun, without water or bathroom breaks, was unconstitutional "cruel and unusual" punishment.
Prison Commissioner Mike Haley announced a new state policy: video monitoring of inmates to insure they get regular water and restroom breaks. Any inmate who agrees to go to work will be unhitched and allowed to sit down, he said.
-- source: "Flagstaff Live," 10-99