In a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of Mississippi death row inmates, conditions are so bad they are driving inmates insane.

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of six inmates by the American Civil Liberties Union says the stifling heat, filth, insects and other conditions could explain why some of those on death row are suffering from mental illness.

At a hearing on the lawsuit earlier this year, James Balsamo, the director of environmental health and safety at Tulane University, said he took temperature, humidity and air volume readings in about 15 cells at Parchman last August, and found the heat index exceeded 100 degrees

Many inmates keep their windows closed to protect themselves from spiders and insects, he said, which adds to the heat and ventilation problems.

Another witness, Dr. Terry Kupers, a California psychiatrist who has written a book on prison madness, said he found several inmates with mental problems in a tour of death row last August.

''They mess up their cell, they're totally disheveled, they scream day and night, they smear feces, they throw feces and urine down the hall, they flood the tier,'' Kupers testified.

In a recent telephone interview, Kupers said conditions at Parchman were worse than any he's seen at death rows in six states and they directly contribute to severe emotional and mental problems.

More information on the lawsuit is available here.

“When we brought this case in July we knew that prison conditions were terrible,” said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU's National Prison Project. “The expert reports we have now received are so disturbing that we are asking the court to move this case up on the docket before prisoners suffer further harm or even death.” In a civilized society, Winter said, “no one should be subjected to treatment like this. The state may be authorized to execute death-sentenced prisoners, but it may not torture prisoners to death while they are pursuing their rights to appeal their sentences.”

Since the death penalty was reinstated in Mississippi, 41% of the death sentences have been overturned.