Full opinion text
OPINION MURRAY M. SCHWARTZ, District Judge. This civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various State statutes by and on behalf of convicted State inmates and pre-trial detainees held at the Delaware Correctional Center (DCC) seeks injunctive relief to alleviate the overcrowded living conditions at DCC. Defendants, sued only in their official capacity, are the Warden of DCC and the Acting Director of the Department of Correction of the State of Delaware. Although there was a seven day trial which concluded on December 3, 1976, there was virtually no disagreement as to the operative facts. Lack of factual controversy is attributable to the parties having entered into a comprehensive stipulation of facts and most of plaintiffs’ primary trial witnesses having been DCC and Department of Correction personnel. Nevertheless, a detailed statement of the facts is essential to understand plaintiffs’ challenge to the overcrowded conditions at DCC. THE PHYSICAL PLANT AND DISBURSAL OF PRISON POPULATION DCC is located two miles north of Smyrna, Delaware. It was constructed during 1970-71 and initially was occupied in April of that year. At that time the DCC complex encompassed seven structures: (1) The administration, pre-trial, hospital and receiving cell building. (2) The maximum security building. (3) The medium security building. (4) The minimum security building. (5) The educational building. (6) The vocational building. (7) The chapel. Thereafter, a gymnasium was constructed and in 1975, two prefabricated buildings (hereinafter MA-1 and MA-2) were constructed in the minimum compound adjacent to the minimum security building. Aside from MA-1 and MA-2 no other residency units have been erected since 1971. Receiving Room Section The receiving room consists of four cells, a shower room, hallway and two storerooms. The receiving room is separated from pre-trial by a solid steel door which is normally locked. The cells are adjacent and each measures thirteen (13) feet eight (8) inches in length, nine (9) feet nine (9) inches in width and eleven (11) feet four (4) inches in height. Each cell has one combination sink and toilet in a corner and one exterior window seven (7) feet high and two (2) feet wide. The front face of the cells consists of a barred opening with a barred door allowing a person in the hallway to look directly into the cells. The shower facilities consist of a room with three shower heads located across the hallway from the cells. Each receiving cell contains one hundred thirty-three (133) square feet of living space. Each cell was equipped at time of trial with two sets of bunk beds, an additional single bed, and some mattresses placed on the floor. Persons in the cells are allowed access to the showers only when the two correctional officers assigned to the receiving room, who also have responsibility for intake processing, discharges, and preparation of men for court, have an opportunity to supervise the showers. No television is available for viewing in the receiving room cells nor are facilities provided for the storage of personal belongings. The receiving room cells were not designed or originally intended to be used to house inmates for extended periods. Each cell or “bull pen” was to hold no more than two men during the initial commitment processing. The processing is done to ascertain the inmate’s physical and mental condition to ensure that he would not present a threat to himself or to the general population. Individuals were to be held in the cells only during the initial commitment process. Shortly after DCC opened, the population pressure forced abandonment of the original plan and three additional bunks were installed in each receiving cell. Subsequently, continued overcrowding caused the receiving room cells to be used for not only pre-trial detentioners and newly sentenced inmates, but also convicted inmates. However, the majority of the inmates in the receiving cells are pre-trial detentioners. Although the receiving room population fluctuates, during the months of September, October and November of 1976, there were numerous instances of 60 or more inmates being held in the four receiving cells during the day with 24 sleeping in the four cells during the night. While inmates reside in the receiving room cells an average of two weeks, some have stayed for as long as six months. Except for meals and the recreation periods given persons in pre-trial, inmates housed in the four receiving room cells are locked in the four separate cells during their waking hours. During this period, assuming 16 inmates per receiving room cell, each inmate has slightly over eight (8) square feet. At night the square footage allotment increases to slightly over twenty-two square feet per inmate, since only six inmates sleep in each cell. The remainder sleep on mattresses on the walkway floors of pre-trial tiers B and C. Pre-Trial Section As originally designed, the pre-trial section, intended for residence of pre-trial detainees, consisted of a small television room, library room, dining-day room and 90 cells arranged in three tiers (A, B and C tiers). In general, an inmate moves from the receiving room cells to the television room and then to the library room. Thereafter, when vacancies appear on the pre-trial cell tiers, persons housed in the library room (and television room) are moved to a cell on the basis of seniority. Pre-Trial Television Room The television room in pre-trial measures eighteen (18) feet three (3) inches in length and twenty-five (25) feet seven (7) inches in width. The single metal door to the room has two windows, and is located across the hallway from the door to C tier walkway. The television room originally was designed for indoor recreation, television viewing and hobbies. Not surprisingly, it has no toilet, shower or wash basin facilities. Nonetheless, the room has been used for residency purposes for approximately one year. The television room generally houses 12 persons on single beds, the majority of whom are pre-trial detentioners. The square footage per resident inmate in the television room is 38.73 square feet. Persons housed in the television room are locked in the room approximately 16 hours out of every 24 hour period. They are released only during recreation, commissary and library times and for meals. If a person secured in the television room desires to use a toilet or wash basin, he must first orally summon a correctional officer to unlock the television room door and the door to C tier, since the toilet facilities of C tier are designated for use by inmates housed in the television room. The television room has no correctional officer assigned to it, and thus a secured inmate who desires to use the bathroom somehow must attract the attention of a correctional officer stationed elsewhere in the pre-trial building. This lack of any plumbing facility also dictates that inmates in the television room may take showers only at specified times. Pre-Trial Library Room The library room measuring twenty-four (24) feet five (5) inches in width and fifteen (15) feet five and one-half (5V2) inches in length was designed originally for use as a library by pre-trial detainees. The library room has not been used as a library for over one year. The room has within it six sets of double bunk beds, approximately 18 inches apart, and has been generally used to house 12 persons. As in the television room, there is a mixture of pre-trial detentioners and convicted persons. The single metal door to the library is separated from the correctional officer’s station by a distance of somewhere between twenty (20) to thirty (30) feet, and is on a different hallway from the three cell tiers. The library has no mechanical or electrical device for summoning correctional officers and has no toilet, shower or wash basin facilities. Inmates are locked in the library for approximately the same period as those in the television room, and encounter similar problems when desiring to use any bathroom facilities. The allotment of space for an inmate living in the pre-trial library is approximately thirty-two (32) square feet. Pre-Trial Cell Tiers The individual pre-trial cells measure ten (10) feet in length, six (6) feet six (6) inches in width, and eight (8) feet nine (9) inches in height. The cells in each tier face a tier walkway measuring one hundred-one (1Ó1) feet in length and eight (8) feet in width. All three cell tiers are secured by a locked door on one end and a lockable door which opens into the central hallway on the other end. Each tier has one shower room with three shower heads. Cells on tiers A and B contain in one corner a combination basin and toilet. Cells on C tier have no toilet or basin, but at the end of C tier is a bathroom consisting of three wash basins, two toilets and three urinals. The doors to cells on A and B tiers must be opened electronically by a correctional officer while the cell doors on C tier are under the control of the occupant who is given a key to the door of his individual cell. Each cell in pre-trial was designed and intended for occupancy by a single person, providing approximately sixty-five (65) square feet of living space. Accordingly, the design capacity for the pre-trial section is 90 persons. As early as 1972, however, the design capacity was exceeded when 15 additional bunks were installed in the cells on the left side of A tier to accommodate the population increase. This reduced the available living space per inmate to thirty-two and one-half (32V2) square feet per cell. Furthermore, because of overcrowded conditions in the receiving room when the receiving cell population exceeds 24 persons, the excess sleep on mattresses placed on the floor of the walkways in B and C tiers. At the time of trial approximately 15 to 20 inmates were sleeping on a regular basis in each of the two walkways. In summary, the pre-trial section consisting of the cells, library and television room was originally designed to accommodate 90 inmates for sleeping and residence purposes. Overpopulation at DCC has now caused it to be crammed with 129 inmates or 43 percent in excess of design capacity. Hospital The hospital, with a design capacity of 26, consists of seven wards, an isolation room (ram-room) and a treatment room, all arranged around a single hallway. Two of the wards were designed originally to house ill persons on a short term basis with nine persons in each ward (D and E wards), a third ward was designed to house four individuals (A ward) and the remaining four wards were designed for one individual per ward (B, C, F and G wards). The treatment room was never intended to be used for residence of any person, ill or non-ill. Despite the design concept, inmate population pressure has caused the hospital to be used to house healthy inmates for the last two to three years, including about six inmates for protective purposes. Six inmates now reside in A ward while 15 to 20 inmates are housed in each of D and E wards. Three inmates live in each of the two wards designed for one person and five inmates are in the treatment room. In other words, the hospital permanently houses an average of 50 inmates, only nine of whom can be classified as physically ill or who objectively manifest bizarre behavior (inmates who are “emotionally disturbed”). Thus, the hospital has been operating at about 100 percent in excess of design capacity, notwithstanding that approximately 80 percent of the hospital population is not in need of medical care. If one aggregates the overpopulation of the pre-trial building, including the pre-trial cells, the library and television room, both of which were never intended for permanent occupancy, the receiving room which was never intended for permanent occupancy, and the hospital which was never intended for permanent occupancy by healthy inmates, there are 243 inmates in permanent residence in an area designed for 90 inmates or at best 116 inmates for an excess of either 170 percent or 120 percent of capacity. Medium Security Buiiding The medium security building contains 137 cells arranged in two wings of three tiers each, an inmate dining room, a staff dining room, one library room in each wing, and a kitchen which serves the entire population at DCC. Each cell has a steel door with a window and each tier has a shower room. All cells except those on D and E tiers have toilets and wash basins within them. D and E tiers each has a communal bathroom with toilets and wash basins. Inmates residing on these two tiers have keys to their individual cells. The staff dining room, with a single entrance, measures forty-four (44) feet eight (8) inches in length by twenty-nine (29) feet one (1) inch in width. Notwithstanding the fact that it only has a small bathroom containing a single toilet and hand basin and no shower, population pressure at DDC has caused it to be used for permanent residential purposes for at least twenty months. In recent months, the staff dining room has been accommodating between 30 and 34 inmates. Assuming the latter figure, the square footage allocated to each inmate is thirty-eight (38) square feet. As could be expected, the completely inadequate bathroom facilities very often require an inmate to summon a guard in order to use other facilities in the medium building. The library in each wing measures eighteen (18) feet four (4) inches in length by eleven (11) feet nine (9) inches in width. The library rooms, designed for reading or other recreation, have no toilet, shower or wash basin facilities, with the consequence that a man housed in one of the former libraries must attract the attention of a guard to allow that inmate tó use a bathroom. For the last six months population increases have caused the libraries to be used for permanent residence. Six inmates live in each library room providing approximately thirty-six (36) square feet of living space per inmate. Overall, the medium building houses 183 inmates, or 33.5 percent in excess of capacity- Minimum Security Building and Annexes The minimum security building consists of four tiers, a dining-day room, a multipurpose room and a library room. Two of the tiers consist of 26 cells, each fronting on a tier walkway. While the individual cells do not contain a sink or toilet, each cell tier is provided with a communal bathroom containing toilets, wash basins, and a shower room. The remaining two tiers are large open rooms measuring eighty-four (84) feet in length by thirty (30) feet two (2) inches in width. These rooms were designed as dormitories and each has a bathroom with four wash basins, three toilets and two urinals, and an adjacent room with four shower heads. One dorm in minimum is occupied by 45 inmates, resulting in an allocation of approximately fifty-six (56) square feet per inmate, while the other is occupied by 51 inmates, resulting in an allocation of approximately fifty (50) square feet per inmate. Each dormitory originally was designed to hold 42 inmates, which would have allotted each inmate sixty (60) square feet of living space. The library room in minimum measures twenty-eight (28) feet one (1) inch in length by ten (10) feet eight (8) inches in width. As in the medium building, the original design did not contemplate use of the library as a permanent residence, and, therefore, it has no toilet, basin or shower facility. However, unlike most other areas at DCC being used for permanent residence but not designed for that purpose, the lack of bathroom facilities is not as onerous since for the most part the inmates have unrestricted access to the entire minimum building. The small library room has been used since June of 1976 to house 12 inmates in six double bunk beds, resulting in an allocation of thirty (30) square feet per inmate. The overcrowding in minimum is significantly less than pre-trial or medium. There are only 18 inmates above the original design capacity of 142, or 12.6 percent in excess of capacity. In June 1975, two prefabricated buildings (MA-1 and MA-2) with a design capacity of 45 inmates per building were opened. The prefabricated buildings are of open dormitory design although one of them has been subdivided by partitions into smaller group rooms. The prefabricated buildings also have succumbed to the population pressure. One of the prefabricated buildings now houses 55 inmates, 22 percent over design capacity, while the other building houses 50 inmates, 11 percent above design capacity. Maximum Security Building The maximum security building contains 72 cells, 9 of which originally were designed for isolation or solitary confinement. It plays only a tangential role in this litigation. The maximum security building is not overcrowded, in terms of use of physical facility, in that each cell was designed for occupancy by a single individual and all cells in that building have continued to be used in that manner. DCC personnel and Department of Correction personnel candidly testified that notwithstanding the intense population pressure, it was their professional opinion that the personality and behavioral patterns of those classified to maximum make it very unwise to initiate any steps to overcrowd the maximum building. THE EFFECTS OF OVERCROWDING The effects of the overcrowding described in the previous section are felt by each inmate from the time that he first enters the institution. The effects derive from two sources: (1) those stemming directly from the overcrowded conditions; and (2) those resulting indirectly from the inability of an overburdened staff to meet the basic needs of the expanding prison population. The most immediate impact is on the inmate’s actual living quarters. As previously described, overcrowding has caused rooms not designed for occupancy to be used to house inmates, and living areas designed for occupancy to house inmates in numbers exceeding their design capacity. The assignment of inmates to dormitories and double cells is based solely on considerations of space availability and seniority; no attempt is made to ascertain the compatibility of those individuals who will be living together. Furthermore, the use of areas not intended for housing in most instances serves to deprive the inmate of exercise and recreational areas. Under normal circumstances, these areas very likely would have a positive effect on inmate attitude and behavior, and under overcrowded conditions, would seem virtually indispensable in helping to alleviate the tensions and frustrations generated by the overcrowding. To escape these overcrowded living arrangements, some inmates have requested confinement in isolation cells or in maximum security. They are more than willing to forego the few privileges they have in exchange for safety and privacy. The overcrowded living conditions directly affect the psychological well-being of the inmates. Cramped and suffocating quarters increase tension, hostility and aggression, and exacerbate any personal problems an inmate may have, thereby intensifying his anxiety and fear. Adequate control and supervision of the living areas by the correctional staff is impossible, privacy is non-existent and the noise levels are intolerable. An inmate cannot move without getting in another inmate’s way. Constant stress, increased tension, and utter frustration generate conflicts and senseless violence over petty matters. Civilized human discourse among inmates and between inmates and staff is suppressed. Even the time during which a prisoner can see visitors has been cut in half. The cumulative psychological impact of these conditions on the individual prisoner is extremely negative. The total lack of privacy and the excessive noise level accompanying overcrowding have adversely affected the physical and emotional well being of the inmates, causing irritation and distraction to all. This is evidenced by the disproportionate increase in the number of self-inflicted injuries, suicides and attempted suicides. Instances in which inmates inflict harm on themselves occur three to four times a month. Idleness pervades DCC. Most inmates have nothing to do all day long and many more work only a short period each day. The vast majority spend their day amidst the overcrowded living conditions, doing little except perhaps staring at the television. Idleness diminishes inmate morale and is directly related to increased violence. Inmates who are idle spend much more time exposed to negative influences, decreasing their desire to engage in activities which might facilitate their ability to return productively to society. The crowded conditions also have endangered the physical health of the inmates. The value of the hospital as a treatment facility has been diminished because it now is used primarily for inmate housing. Placement of persons in close confinement in the large living areas of the institution increases the likelihood of transmission of communicable diseases, particularly upper respiratory diseases. Want of sanitary living conditions further aggravates health maintenance. The toilet facilities and sewage treatment plant at DCC are seriously overburdened. In fact, the sewage system has been overtaxed and partially inoperative since first installed. Some untreated sewage flows directly into the Smyrna River from the prison, posing environmental problems to the surrounding localities. There has been a complete breakdown in the classification system and the incentive system at the prison. Delays are rampant both in making classification decisions and in implementing classification assignments. The quality of classification reports has decreased as the quantity of reports to be prepared has increased. Some inmates, for example those serving sentences of less than one year, simply are not classified at all. Since overcrowding has equalized the living conditions among maximum, medium and minimum, there is little incentive for inmates to seek a “less restrictive” environment. There has been a concomitant breakdown in the rehabilitative program at the prison, including vocational training, educational programs, work release, and educational release. Delays of several months are common before an inmate can enter a program. Short-term inmates are discouraged from enrolling in many programs. Once in a program, successful completion is often thwarted by the noise and other distractions found in prison living areas. Finally, the overcrowding and under-staffing have destroyed the morale of the correctional officers and the treatment staff in that they are unable to perform their jobs and are powerless to correct a situation deleteriously affecting the entire institution. The most severe problem facing the custodial staff is maintenance of control and security in the institution. In a number of areas the inmate-to-guard ratio is so great that a very dangerous situation exists, and any disturbance could easily become a major riot. Taking into account leaves, sicknesses, vacations and incidents in other parts of the institution requiring additional personnel, it is not infrequent that in the late afternoon or at night entire buildings will be under the control of only one or two guards (if any) for extended periods of time. With insufficient staff to supervise living areas, there is also an increase in theft, assault, and homosexual rape, as well as a decrease in the amenities of daily life, e. g., the frequency of showers, the ability to go to the bathroom when secured in a converted dormitory, and the frequency of visits to the library or commissary. The treatment personnel are equally handicapped in contending with the needs of an increasing population. Although an estimated 80 percent of the population at DCC needs or would benefit from psychological or psychiatric assistance, the Delaware Department of Correction employs only two psychologists for its entire prison population of approximately 1100 inmates and no psychiatrists. By comparison, the American Correctional Association standard is one psychologist for every two hundred inmates. The two clinical psychologists serving the entire Delaware prison population have been assigned three functions at DCC: diagnosis, administration, and therapy. The diagnostic function involves testing potential parolees and persons to be pardoned as well as inmates seeking reclassification. The sheer volume of testing and reports has bogged down both the parole and classification systems. As part of their administrative function, the psychologists must serve on the institution classification board. Undoubtedly a psychologist provides substantial help to the board, but this added responsibility further consumes his time. Because of these heavy administrative and diagnostic tasks, the psychologists have virtually no time for their therapeutic function. Ongoing individual therapy has been nonexistent for over a year, except to avert immediate crises. For group therapy, there is a nine-month waiting list. The foregoing has been an examination of the primary effects of overcrowding on an institution-wide basis. The following will highlight some of the more severe problems affecting individual sections of DCC. Receiving Room Cells Nearly all persons admitted to the institution initially are placed in the receiving room cells. Newly admitted individuals are often frightened, anxious, and hostile. They do not know what to expect from confinement and most are frustrated and upset about losing their freedom. Those who are hostile present a threat to the other persons jammed in the receiving room cells. Those who are timid and unsure become more so when they are forced to live in close proximity with aggressive persons. In spite of this, the treatment staff simply has neither the time nor the space to segregate prisoners according to age, offense charged, personality traits or prior criminal record. Similarly, the treatment staff is unable to perform psychological or psychiatric tests or give inmates a physical examination on admission. Physical examinations are often delayed by eight or more days after a prisoner arrives at the institution. Psychological tests are given only to those newly convicted inmates who receive sentences in excess of one year. As a result of these practices, both the physical health and the safety of the receiving cell population is endangered unnecessarily. Living conditions in the receiving room cells at the time of trial can only be described as barbaric. Two or more persons often had to lie in the same bed and others lay under the bunk beds. Other people locked in the cells stood or lay on mattresses on the floor. Some men would just stand against the cell front hanging onto the cell bars. Mattresses were placed against the cell’s one open toilet. Those who wished to urinate had to stand on their own or another’s mattress while doing so. Those urinating in the toilet would sometimes urinate on a mattress or even on another person. Those who wished to defecate had to rest their feet in a similar fashion. Odors from the defecations permeated the cells. Any person using the toilet must do so in front of all persons in his cell and in view of other persons in the hallway area who could see through the bars which enclose the cell. It is under these living conditions that the inmates spend most of their waking hours. The mattresses used in the receiving room, whether cotton or foam rubber, are filthy, without covers, and never sterilized or sanitized. Because of the overcrowded conditions the cells are filthy and vermin infested. Even the guards who work in the receiving room area have reported problems with lice. The cells are impossible to keep clean because of the number of inmates housed in each. The cells are so noisy that reading, sleeping and other forms of concentration are difficult if not impossible. During the summer months the temperature in the cells is oppressive. At night (11:00 p.m.-8:00 a.m.), six persons sleep in each of the four receiving room cells. The remaining persons housed in those cells must sleep on mattresses placed on the floor of C tier and if necessary, B tier. The mattresses for sleeping on the floor are stored near the television room in the pre-trial area and are ragged and filthy. They are never sterilized or sanitized before being given to another person, further endangering the health of the inmates who sleep on them. At times there have been no covers, sheets, pillows or blankets for the persons using the mattresses. Those who sleep in tier C must use the communal bathroom on that tier, making it difficult to keep that bathroom clean and sanitary. Persons sleeping on the floor of B tier must use the toilet facilities in an individual cell located on the tier. A different cell is used each night. This presents numerous problems for the inmate whose cell is being used on a particular night by a large number of persons. Sleeping becomes very difficult and the likelihood of theft of his personal belongings increases. There is also a problem of thefts of the personal belongings of those sleeping on the tier floors at night, as these persons have no place to store their belongings safely. Thefts are also very common in the receiving room cells because there are no safe storage areas for personal items. At trial it developed that only one correctional officer was in the receiving room area on the twelve-to-eight shift. As a consequence of his necessary preoccupation with clerical duties, homosexual rape had become the norm in the receiving room cells. The danger of this type of assault was so great that Lieutenant Ernest Hoffrage has found it necessary to warn those individuals who are placed in the receiving room cells during his shift of the likelihood of assault, advising them of the three options available to them: (1) report any advance or attempt after it occurs; (2) resist the attempt on your own; or (3) submit. The first alternative is in most instances impractical because of fear of reprisal, leaving only the options of resistance or submission. Persons sleeping on the tier floors also are subjected to homosexual assault. Assault and fights unrelated to sex also are commonplace in the receiving room cells. These outbreaks result from the cramped living quarters and from the policy of placing Rule 31 persons in the receiving room cells. Pre-Trial Section Movement throughout the remainder of the pre-trial area depends primarily on seniority. Persons from the receiving room cells generally move into the television room. During the afternoon recreation times the television room is used for indoor recreation and television watching by seventy-five to one hundred persons at a time, sitting on the same mattress beds that the residents of the television room sleep on at night. As a result, the television room is constantly dirty, as are the mattress beds. Secure storage of personal items in the television room is difficult because of the traffic in and out of the room. The restricted access to the pre-trial library room makes it possible for inmates living there to store personal belongings more safely. After residence in the television and/or library room, most inmates and particularly those who have yet to be convicted, will be assigned to a two-man cell on A tier. No screening of the compatibility of persons placed in these cells is undertaken. The double occupancy cells on A tier are extremely cramped. Two persons cannot move around the cell at the same time; one must remain on his bed during the other’s movement. Only a passage of eight inches exists between the corner of the lower bunk and the toilet. There is no privacy in using the toilet facilities. Because the cells have no provision for the storage of personal belongings, inmates must store their possessions in cardboard boxes placed under the beds. Conditions in individual cells are much better, except that individuals on C tier must share their communal bathroom with inmates residing in the television room and library and receiving room inmates sleeping on the walkway. Medium Security Once an inmate is classified from pre-trial to either the maximum, medium or minimum security buildings, he may wait for a number of months until a bed becomes available in the section to which he is classified. If his classification is to the medium building, his initial residency will be either in the former staff dining room or in one of the two former libraries. The former staff dining room, housing as many as thirty-four inmates, is singularly ill-suited for residential purposes. Aside from the inadequate bathroom facilities previously noted, the temperature in the room is virtually uncontrollable. In winter, the room is extremely cold, serviced only by a single heating register. In summer months it is extremely hot; a condition that is exacerbated by the lack of ventilation adequate for occupancy purposes. Year round it is extremely noisy, because of its proximity to the kitchen. Moreover, all duct work from the kitchen runs through the room. This noise, particularly that from the kitchen fans, can be heard twenty-four hours a day, and prevents reading, letter writing and hinders the ability of inmates to sleep. Overcrowding also has rendered the dining facilities in medium inadequate. Although a prison regulation prohibits inmates from eating in their cells (for health and sanitation reasons), it is ignored because the dining room cannot accommodate all the prisoners during a meal. The dining room further serves as a general recreation area and television room. Although a couple witnesses intimated that the dining room could be used by inmates as a quiet area for studying, other testimony revealed that the noise level there is not appreciably lower than in the staff dining room. The use of the staff dining room and two libraries for residential purposes not only affects the inmates who are housed within those areas, but has a direct impact on the entire building. The tensions that build up as a result of living in these areas overflow to the entire building. Finally the incentive system within the medium building itself has completely broken down. The design of medium contemplated inmates moving from cells with sliding automatically locking doors to those where the inmate has a key to his own cell. Cell assignments now are governed by considerations of what space is available. The loss of this incentive system has had a negative impact on the inmates in the building. Minimum Security Compound An inmate classified to minimum security will first reside in one of the two minimum dormitories in the minimum building for an average of five months before assignment to an individual cell. The dormitory concept originally was intended for housing inmates classified for work release, who would be out of the building for a number of hours each day. Accordingly, the need for individualized cells, within the attendant privacy and security they would provide, was not seen as critical. However, the function of the minimum dormitories has changed drastically as a result of the overcrowding and the cutback in the work release program. Presently, the dormitories are used for general housing, and residents may spend most if not all of their day within the confines of the dormitory. Both dormitories are extremely crowded, and at the time of trial, resort to double bunking had begun. Yet in light of the numerous problems stemming from placement of a large number of individuals in cramped quarters in a single room, no attempt is made to screen newly arrived residents to determine their suitability for or compatibility with such an environment. The minimum dormitories suffer many of the same problems that plague the medium security staff dining room. The most oppressive problem is the noise level. Security is also difficult to maintain. Fights and assaults take place on an average of four per week in the minimum building, mostly in the dormitories and the hallways. Eighteen major fights occurred between June, 1976, and the start of the trial, a substantially greater number than were observed for comparable periods in previous years. Thefts are relatively common, homosexual activity flourishes unabated, and privacy is nonexistent. Maintenance of adequate security is further aggravated by the fact that certain pre-trial detentioners are also held in the minimum dormitories due to the shortage of space in the pre-trial building. These detentioners live under restrictions not imposed upon convicted persons living in the dormitories. Inmate witnesses at trial also reported recent shortages of food and cafeteria trays. As a result of the tray shortage, the available trays must be washed during the middle of each meal so that each can be reused. This is not only an inconvenience, it is also a serious health problem, since the minimum building has no facilities for washing the trays properly. The Hospital and Health Care Services As a result of the increased population at DCC, the delivery of health care services in the institution has broken down. The biggest problem is the status of the institution hospital. According to Dr. Krista Srivastiva, the resident physician, he needs the full twenty-six beds that the hospital was designed to accommodate for medical purposes. ' However, the hospital presently is occupied by an average of fifty persons, few of whom are there for medical treatment. Those living in the hospital solely because there is no room anywhere else at DCC suffer from boredom and idleness. These inmates are not permitted outdoor recreation, or access to the commissary or library except through submission of written lists, and may not participate in educational or vocational programs. Except for six inmates who work, persons are locked in the hospital area twenty-four hours a day unless they have a visitor or meet with a lawyer or counselor. Even meals are eaten in their living quarters. The constant noise generated by healthy residents adversely affects the rate of recuperation of the patients. The lack of available bed space often prevents persons diagnosed as sick from being placed in the hospital, at least until a residential inmate is moved out. When an inmate has a contagious disease, the problem of space is further complicated. During the trial no place could be found in the hospital for an inmate diagnosed as having an active and highly contagious strep condition. Although a person with active tuberculosis presently is housed in the hospital, during the time when the medical staff suspected that he had the disease but their suspicions had not been confirmed, he had to be kept in the general population because there was no place in the hospital. And immediately preceding the trial, an outbreak of scabbies occurred in pre-trial tier A. The inmates affected had to be quarantined in their own cells because there were no beds available in the hospital. Since February, 1976, the daily sick call has tripled; yet there has been no increase in the size of the medical staff. As a result, the one institution doctor is unable to spend sufficient time with each patient to meet his medical needs. The incidence of one particular ailment has significantly increased — back and muscle pains — attributable to the number of inmates sleeping on the floor. ° Persons referred to an outside hospital for surgery must await long periods of time to be admitted. Efforts to eliminate some of this waiting by performing minor surgery in the institution have been frustrated since inmates now live in the treatment room. Physical therapy and whirlpool treatments similarly are unavailable because of the conversion of this room to a living area. VIOLATION Having described the physical layout of DCC and the general and specific effects of overcrowding, it is necessary to consider whether the resultant conditions constitute a violation of any State regulation or statute or, if necessary, a violation of the Constitution of the United States. In 1972, class action litigation between inmates of DCC and the State was settled upon agreement of the State to adopt a comprehensive set of rules for the treatment of inmates. The set of Rules adopted by DCC pursuant to the settlement and 11 Del. C. § 6535 has become known as the DCC Inmate Reference Manual (IRM). The IRM together with the numerous statutory provisions impose rather specific requirements on the operation of DCC. To the extent the IRM contains mandatory language, it has the same effect as a statute. See Jenkins v. Keve, C.A. 74-191 and Davidson v. Keve, C.A. 74-119 (D.Del.Sept. 20, 1974). Double Celling There was uncontroverted evidence at trial that minimum public health standards for correctional institutions require single cells to contain sixty (60) square feet of floor space, with an eight (8) foot ceiling, and five hundred (500) cubic feet of air space. All single cells occupied by one inmate at DCC meet this standard and in general comply with the IRM. However, the practice of double celling in A tier of pre-trial, instituted as a temporary measure in 1972 and continuing until today, violates-paragraph 5 of the IRM, since double celled inmates have little more than one-half the required living space. Moreover, the practice also violates IRM paragraph 4(1), since a four year period in no way fairly can be characterized as “temporary overcrowding.” Dormitories and Dormitory Like Settings Unlike single cells, none of the dormitories and areas converted to dormitories comply with prevailing minimal health standards. To satisfy these requirements, dormitories and converted areas must provide a minimum of seventy-five (75) square feet per inmate Currently the two dormitories in minimum — the only areas originally designed for use as dormitories — house at least 50 inmates per dormitory, resulting in an unacceptable allocation of only fifty (50) square feet per inmate As originally designed, these two dormitories were built to house 42 inmates or an allocation of sixty (60) square feet per inmate. The original design concept envisioned use of the minimum building to house prisoners on work or educational release. If the original design limitation and concept had been followed, sixty (60) square feet per inmate could well be acceptable, because the dormitories would not be inhabited a substantial portion of each day. The present conditions of mass humanity and enforced, destructive idleness pervading DCC including the dormitories in minimum, coupled with the virtual absence of any work and educational release programs operated from DCC and the paucity of educational and vocational programs at DCC, compels the Court to insist upon compliance with the standard of seventy-five (75) square feet per inmate. Given this requirement, the two minimum dormitories may properly accommodate 34 inmates each. Usé of the B and C tier walkways as sleeping areas for the overflow from the receiving room cells violates IRM paragraphs 4(2), 5, 8, and 7. Use of the former library in pre-trial (thirty-two (32) square feet per inmate), television room in pre-trial (thirty-nine (39) square feet per inmate), two former library rooms in medium (thirty-six (36) square feet per inmate) and library in minimum (thirty (30) square feet per inmate), all without any available toilet facilities (except by ultimately summoning a guard) violate the uncontradicted seventy-five (75) square feet per inmate requirement read into IRM paragraph 5 and IRM paragraph 7 Similarly, use of the former staff dining room (thirty-eight (38) square feet for each of 34 inmates) with only one toilet and sink also violates IRM paragraph 5 and paragraph 7. Hospital There was uncontradicted testimony that the hospital, designed to administer health care services to a maximum of 26 inmates, if needed, is being used to house more than 50 inmates. Of the inmates housed in the hospital, an average of five or six and no more than ten inmates are physically ill requiring hospitalization at any one time. At the time of trial, the hospital was also housing three emotionally disturbed inmates and a few individuals segregated for their own protection. Over 40 inmates and detentioners in the hospital are quartered there for want of any other available bed space, even though those confined to the hospital have virtually no privileges and are locked in the hospital area 24 hours per day. The doctor for DCC testified, and I accept, that the design capacity of 26 beds is needed by the hospital to function properly. Even if all 26 beds never are occupied at one time, it is of paramount medical importance to have readily available space for emergency medical isolation. Accordingly, utilization of the hospital for general housing renders imppssible the providing of adequate health care services in violation of both IRM paragraph 17(2) and Delaware State law. Receiving Room The Court found conditions in the receiving room as described at pp. 1107-1108 and 1114-1116, supra, to be so barbaric and inhumane as to warrant instant remedial action. Further, the State virtually conceded in open court on December 6, 1976, that conditions in the receiving room cells could not pass constitutional muster. As a consequence and because arguments predicated upon Delaware statutes and the IRM had not been fully developed a finding was made that “conditions in the receiving room cells constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the Federal Constitution as incorporated in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution, and further that such conditions work a denial of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment as to individuals charged, but not convicted of any criminal offense. . . . ” Pursuant to that finding, an Interim Order was entered reducing the maximum population permitted in the receiving room cells to twenty inmates. The subsequent clarification of plaintiffs’ State law claim leads the Court to conclude that the conditions existing in the receiving room area at the time of the Interim Order violated every IRM provision relating to accommodations. Classification Thus far, the identification of violations caused by overcrowding has focused on various areas of the institution. Trial testimony of the DCC personnel established without contradiction that overcrowding has directly contributed to a breakdown of the system of classifying inmates. An inmate classification system, the heart of any correctional institution, not only determines the required custodial level of an individual but also establishes a scheme of goals to allow a person to obtain benefits from the correctional process after identifying his vocational, educational, mental and physical needs. Moreover, classification, including housing assignments, has been mandated by the Delaware Legislature and forms an integral part of the system of incentives and rewards central to the proper functioning of DCC. The DCC classification system, which almost from the start did not function properly because of overcrowding, has broken down completely; not even the most minimal goals of classification are accomplished. Due to the increase in number of inmates without a corresponding increase in staff, the classification process presently consumes an inordinate amount of time. Similarly, the quality of classification reports has decreased under the pressure of quantity. Most importantly, once classification is determined, the implementation of the classification plan is delayed at least two to three months during which time an inmate may languish unproductively in pretrial or at his prior classification level. Frequently, classification assignments are based solely on what space is available rather than a considered evaluation of the security needs of the institution and what best would facilitate the inmate’s productive return to society. This disregard for or delay in implementation of classification not only demoralizes and frustrates the inmate, but directly contravenes the statutorily mandated classification requirement. In view of the massive, uncontestable evidence of overcrowding and its effect at DCC put forward by DCC and Department of Correction personnel, it is not surprising that following the trial, defendants ultimately conceded “that the housing of pre-trial detentioners in other than single cells is done in violation of the Rules for the Treatment of Inmates in the Delaware Correctional Institutions and 11 Del. C. § 6526(b). It would follow therefore, that the housing of pre-trial detentioners in converted libraries and converted day rooms would likewise violate the above provisions. Finally, the defendants concede that the manner of housing convicted persons violates rules and regulations in the Rules for the Treatment of Inmates in the Delaware Correctional Institutions as adopted by the Department of Correction, and 11 Del. C. § 6531.” The foregoing violations all have been predicated upon nonfederal grounds, either Delaware statutes or the IRM. This is in no way intended to imply that plaintiffs failed to demonstrate federal constitutional violations. Rather, it represents adherence to the general rule that “if a case can be decided on either of two grounds, one involving a constitutional question, the other a question of statutory construction or general law, the Court will decide only the latter.” Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288, 347, 56 S.Ct. 466, 483, 80 L.Ed. 688 (1936) (Brandeis, J., concurring). The Supreme Court affirmed the importance of this principle in Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 94 S.Ct. 1372, 39 L.Ed.2d 577 (1973) in which it read Siler v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 213 U.S. 175, 29 S.Ct. 451, 53 L.Ed. 753 (1909), to hold “that the state issues should be decided first and because these claims were dispositive, federal questions need not be reached.” Hagans, supra, 415 U.S. at 546, 94 S.Ct. at 1383. It is therefore clear “a federal court properly vested with jurisdiction[] may pass on the state or local law question without deciding the federal constitutional issues” and may then “dispose of the case solely on the nonfederal ground.” Id. at 547, n. 12, 94 S.Ct. at 1384. Confident of jurisdiction, attention is now turned to the formulation of an appropriate remedy for the State law violations. The development of a remedy for State law violations requires careful balancing of the desirability of minimizing federal intrusion into what is essentially a State matter against avoidance of judicial timidity in the face of gross and continuing violations which State officials seemingly are unable to correct unless and until supplied with the protective succor and warmth of a federal court order. REMEDY Double Celling and Dormitory Like Settings The State law violations found by the Court obviously preclude continued use of the library and television room for permanent residence and use of the walkways on the tiers in pre-trial for temporary sleeping quarters. Similarly, housing inmates in the staff dining room and two libraries in medium as well as the library in minimum must cease. Finally, double celling in A tier in pre-trial resulting in less than sixty (60) square feet per inmate and the practice of overcrowding the dormitories in minimum resulting in less than seventy-five (75) square feet per inmate can no longer be permitted. Most, if not all of the foregoing, has been tacitly or openly conceded by defendants. Receiving Room Since the four receiving room cells each contain one hundred thirty-three (133) square feet, there appears to be no reason why the original design capacity of two inmates per cell cannot be followed, although it is perhaps not the most desirable option. Further, so long as the IRM and State law do not provide otherwise, the four receiving room cells can be used for permanent housing when not required for new detentioners or newly sentenced persons. Accordingly, the four receiving room cells will be considered part of the residential design capacity of DCC in determining the maximum permissible population. This approach provides defendants with the flexibility to use the cells more efficiently if not needed or ultimately not used for their intended purpose. Hospital Unlike the receiving room area, the design capacity of the hospital should not be considered in determining the residential design capacity of the institution, nor should it be considered as an area suitable for permanent housing of detentioners and convicted persons. This conclusion is compelled primarily because indiscriminate use of these beds to house healthy inmates prevents the hospital from fulfilling its intended health care purpose. On the other hand, while the doctor in charge of the hospital testified he needed the twenty-six bed capacity, he also testified that normally no more than ten physically ill inmates require hospitalization at any one time. Although less than ideal, it is appropriate to permit the hospital to be used in certain circumstances for the temporary segregation of inmates for their own protection and temporary housing of inmates who are emotionally disturbed but are refused admission to mental health institutions. To assure the availability of proper medical care and hospital bed space, the hospital may be used as temporary living quarters at any one time for no more than 10 individuals who are either emotionally disturbed and/or in need of protective isolation. Classification If one simply aggregates the total number of beds available for permanent housing, the resulting figure is 508. This number has been alluded to previously as the residential design capacity. However, to establish 508 as the permissible capacity for the present DCC facility, would be to ignore a concept fundamental to the purpose and proper operation of DCC. The inmate classification system, mandated by statute, forms the basis for the system of incentives and rewards developed by the Department of Correction to assist the rehabilitation process. Moreover, inmate housing and the privileges attendant to assignment to the different buildings play a prominent role in this incentive system. Uncontradicted testimony from DCC personnel established that the housing classification system, and, in turn, the entire classification process cannot work if the institution is filled to design capacity. For example, an inmate who has earned the right to live in the minimum building may have an extended wait until a bed becomes available, or an inmate who has not earned that right may be assigned to minimum simply because that is where space is available. Those same individuals testified housing classification becomes impeded unless eight to ten percent of the beds used for permanent housing of convicted inmates are not occupied. Accordingly, the aggregate existing and future design capacity of DCC will be reduced by eight percent to determine the maximum capacity of DCC before classification to housing becomes impeded (hereinafter referred to as “classification capacity”). This eight percent factor will not be applied to pre-trial because an individual is not classified unless convicted and then only if sentenced to 90 days or more. Thus, the current classification capacity of DCC is 475 inmates. In order to permit necessary flexibility, defendants will not be required to hold vacant eight percent of the beds in each building or in each living area of a building, although application of the eight percent factor to the institution as a whole presumably will result in a random distribution of vacancies sufficient to permit immediate inmate assignment or reassignment upon classification to housing. Finally, in recognition of the fact that defendants cannot control the volume of admissions on any one particular day or group of days but only can adjust to rapid increases by releasing individuals in order to comply with the order to be issued by this Court, the inmate population will be permitted to exceed 475, subject to the following limitations: (1) under no circumstances will the total inmate population ever be permitted to exceed design capacity; (2) the total inmate population may not exceed classification capacity for more than 72 consecutive hours at one time; and (3) the total inmate population shall never exceed the classification capacity for an aggregate of more than 30 calendar days in any one year. In sum, design and classification capacity and hence maximum permissible inmate population subject to adjustment to reflect new construction are as follows: Design Capacity Classification Capacity Receiving Room Cells 8 8 Pre-Trial 90 90 Minimum 120 111 Cells (52) (48) Dorms (68) (63) Medium 137 126 Maximum 63 58 MA-1 45 41 MA-2 _45 _41 Total 508 475 IMPLEMENTATION OF REMEDY In light of the State’s reluctant concession that conditions at DCC violate State law, and the above analysis of the capacity of the institution, the remedy for the conceded violation is clear: reduce the inmate population. The issue is when this remedy should be put into effect. The State of Delaware has put into the record evidence of its plans to expand the housing facilities at DCC by renovation and new construction. The Court has been advised that the State has completed renovations to convert an unused area in the vocational building to a dormitory with a design capacity of 42. Although ready for occupancy, the new dorm remains unused because no funds have been appropriated by the Legislature for the necessary additional staff. Further, defendants state that the Delaware Youth Center (DYC) located at Dover, Delaware, will be available on May 1,1977, to relieve DCC of 58 inmates either short term or classified to minimum. Defendants also have submitted their plans for the construction of two prefabricated dormitories that meet the standards set forth in this Opinion and have a design capacity of 45 each. Finally, evidence was adduced at trial that the Legislature has appropriated funds for a new 48 bed maximum security facility to be built at DCC and that a bill will be introduced in the State Senate to authorize construction of a new three hundred bed facility at a site not yet known. These proposals by the State represent an important initial step toward ameliorating the present conditions at DCC. If the State, however, is suggesting that any remedy for its violations of State law should be predicated upon its long range plans for building a new 48 bed maximum security facility and a new 300 bed facility, its position is untenable for several reasons. First, notwithstanding the crisis at DCC, the proposed maximum security facility has not yet been put out for bid and could not be completed optimistically before 1979. Second, testimony brought out at trial established that for the past sixteen months the average net gain per month in prison population has been 14. Thus, if past trends are any guide, the 48 bed facility would be filled within three and one-half months of its projected opening in 1979. Defendants have not suggested what to do about the net increase of 14 per month for the intervening construction period of two to three years. Similarly, even if the bill authorizing the new 300 bed facility were passed tomorrow, it will neither stop the present trend of population increase nor provide housing for the additional 14 inmates incarcerated each month during its three to four year construction period. Third, the long history of overcrowding at DCC detracts from the State’s attempt to paint a picture of legislative resolution and determination to face up to its responsibilities promptly and maturely. Fourth, the recent passage of laws imposing mandatory, minimum sentences and mandatory consecutive sent