BATON ROUGE — A federal judge is giving the Louisiana State Penitentiary a week to come up with a plan to protect prisoners working outside from extreme heat after advocates sued the DOC in June.

Judge Brian Jackson issued a temporary restraining order that will prevent Angola officials from sending prisoners to work on the Farm Line when heat index values reach or exceed 88 degrees. The state must send a memorandum detailing its proposed solutions.

He issued his ruling on a day when the heat index was 118.

Former inmate Terrance Winn was incarcerated at Angola for over 30 years he describes the harsh conditions as working like a mule.

"If a horse falls out you are going to come in that's the only way you're going to come in," Winn said.

In his opinion, Jackson argued Angola fails to meet the minimum federal and state requirements for heat safety.

"The wealth of evidence here shows that incarcerated person laboring on the Farm line are not provided with shade, sunscreen, or required rest breaks. Further, the declarations from named Plaintiffs uniformly provide that breaks are seldomly given, that the water provided is dirty, that they are required to work beyond their physical capacities, and that they are not provided with other necessary protective equipment," Jackson wrote.

Lydia Wright, Associate Director of Civil Litigation at the Promise of Justice Initiative and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, praised the ruling and said she would fight until the ruling creates permanent change.

“Today’s ruling is validation that the unconstitutional and inhumane conditions of forced labor that exist at Louisiana State Penitentiary will no longer stand unchallenged,” Wright said. "The goal at the end of all this is to end the farm line once and for all. it serves no valid purpose, it is clearly cruel and unusual punishment and there's no place for it in modern society."

The state prison system said it would appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling comes as most of the state remains under either an extreme heat alert or advisory. West Feliciana Parish is under an excessive heat warning, meaning heat index values exceed 113 degrees. 

"Working outside without proper protective equipment can lead to really serious heat-related illness, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death, Wright said.