Lawyers seek expansion of prison exercise lawsuit

Lawyers are seeking to expand a lawsuit filed over the lack of outdoor recreation at Colorado’s high-security prison.

Colorado Department of Corrections Executive Director Rick Raemisch told the Denver Post Tuesday that virtually all options are being examined to solve the problem at Canon City’s Colorado State Penitentiary.

In a separate lawsuit, a U.S. District Court judge last year declared unconstitutional the lack of outdoor recreation at the prison where inmates are held in solitary confinement.

Three inmates have filed a federal lawsuit. Inmates at the penitentiary spend 23 hours a day in cells and exercise in a cell with a barred window 6 inches wide.

Attorneys from University of Denver’s law clinic are seeking class-action status which could lead to the prison being declared obsolete.