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St. Louis jail to add portable A/C units, mayor says

A St. Louis jail will add portable air-conditioning units this week at a jail that has come under criticism as inmates suffered in a triple-digit heat wave, the city's mayor said Saturday.

Five units ranging from 25 to 50 tons will be installed to bring relief to the older sections that lack air conditioning at the St. Louis Workhouse, CBS affiliate KMOV reports.  The city expects the units to be in place by the end of next week.  

"I support air conditioning at MSI for the health and safety of everyone who is in that jail," Mayor Lyda Krewson said in a statement. "Once my administration determined that temporary air conditioning was a viable solution, I ordered that temporary air conditioning units be installed as soon as possible."  

Around 200 people protested outside the jail on Friday night, with police using pepper spray to disperse the demonstration. According to a Facebook post from the St. Louis Action Council, over 100 bail requests have been received and bail has already been posted for at least 16 people, KMOV reports.

More protesters gathered Saturday outside the jail, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported there were more clashes with police and arrests. 

 In a video posted on Facebook earlier this week, inmates can be heard yelling "help us!" and "we ain't got no A/C!" 

The air conditioning is just one of many complaints logged against the jail, which houses 750 people awaiting trial who cannot afford bail, according to the Post-Dispatch. In 2015, voters turned down a measure that would have funded air-conditioning and other repairs at the jail. 

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