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People who have been incarcerated inside the Blair County Prison say they encountered rodent droppings in food, poor access to medical care, and violence at the aging, overcrowded facility, a review of nearly 80 legal filings from the past year shows.
Officials say many of these issues will be solved when the county moves out of the 157-year-old prison and into a new facility in 2029. The design for the $100 million prison -- approved by the prison board but pending a land sale -- includes exercise areas for all housing units, larger culinary and medical areas, and medical rooms to house individuals who may need 24/7 observation, as well as expanded support for inmates with mental illnesses. The prison usually houses people who are awaiting trial and serving short-term sentences.
But some allegations laid out in legal filings aren't directly related to the building's conditions, including poor medical care by a third-party contractor and limited access to psychiatric and substance use disorder medications.
Blair County Commissioner Laura Burke declined to comment on the active litigation but said commissioners and prison board members always thoroughly investigate any allegations.
Warden Matthew Hale also declined to comment on the litigation, but spoke candidly about the prison's challenges in an interview.
Since becoming warden in September 2025, Hale told Spotlight PA his biggest challenge is working around the prison's dated structure. He's focusing on the things he can control and mitigating the things that he can't, he said.
The prison's population in June was around 340, much higher than the 280 to 298 people it would "optimally" support under American Correctional Association standards, according to a feasibility study Blair County commissioned on the facility and options to replace it.
Of the prison's 11 housing units, fewer than half comply with ACA standards for capacity according to the study, which Spotlight PA obtained through a Right-to-Know request. "Many units are overcrowded to the point of posing safety risks to both staff and inmates," it says.
Ken Dean, director of the Blair County Prison Re-entry Coalition, likened the interior of the prison, which has thick stone walls, to a medieval castle. The dingy, decrepit space makes incarceration an even more depressing experience, worsening mental health for people housed there, he said.
"In your worst imagination, no matter how bad you think it could be, double that," Dean said. "That's how bad it is."
The prison's archaic design provides poor sightlines for correctional officers and makes it difficult to prevent fights or attacks among inmates, Hale said. Blair County Prison had 54 cases of inmate-on-inmate assault last year, the fourth highest amount in Pennsylvania, according to "county prison extraordinary occurrence statistics" from the state Department of Corrections.
Eyeing a new facility, Hale noted some improvements are needed to make the prison a space where incarcerated people can truly be rehabilitated. He wants to make incarceration at Blair prison as positive as possible.
"It can either be a thing that we all complain about, or it could be a thing that we sort of agree has to exist and is doing the best it can do to help society," Hale said.
19th century prison, 21st century population
Blair County Prison was built in 1869, the same year Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in as the 18th president. It was designed to hold 100 beds, but by the late 1970s, incarceration rates surged, and the facility exceeded its capacity, forcing some inmates to be housed outside the county, according to the feasibility study.
Around 1980, the prison received minor upgrades and increased its capacity to 158. By the early 2000s, population pressures persisted, leading to the most recent expansion.
Its prison cells follow the Pennsylvania model design, where two rows of cells are split by a dayroom. It requires correctional officers to constantly pass through the housing unit to observe, which can create blind spots. It wasn't until the mid-20th century that podular housing units became more popular in U.S. corrections and improved sightlines for staff.
Hale said the old design supports fighting and other illicit activities. It also makes it difficult for correctional officers to investigate wrongdoing, he added.
"We have a whole set of issues that are caused or at least exacerbated by the way that the jail is set up," he said. "If we had a more modern facility, those issues just wouldn't exist."
Of the almost 80 legal filings, two allege excessive use of force from correctional officers, and seven reference violent incidents among people held in the prison.
One man, who was incarcerated for unpaid traffic fines, alleged in a suit that he was beaten in a "suicide risk" cell. Two of the three other inmates in the cell "were mentally and emotionally unstable, had a propensity for violence, and would act out if given any opportunity."
Spotlight PA is not naming any of the people who brought complaints against the prison, as their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
"When he was placed in the suicide risk cell with three inmates, [the man] was justifiably terrified and fearful for his safety," according to the lawsuit. His "protests, questions, and complaints were deliberately unanswered and unheeded."
Medical exams show the man suffered many injuries to his face and head, including broken and fractured bones. He underwent several corrective surgeries, according to his suit, along with metal implants and cosmetic work, to repair the damage from the assault.
The man alleged lasting damage from the injuries, including a diminished ability to chew on the right side and PTSD. The lawsuit was settled on Jan. 15 for an undisclosed amount.
Bites, droppings, and stolen food
Rodents have exploited the prison's damaged plumbing, degraded foundations, and gaps in exterior walls to infiltrate cell blocks in search of food and shelter, several lawsuits allege. Over a dozen lawsuits filed mention mice or rats, noting bites, droppings in food, and chewed pantry items from the prison's commissary.
"The plaintiff was subject to rats running all over the place," one suit filed in November 2025 says. "A number of times, he had them in his box [of food], eating the plaintiff's commissary. He has woken up to them in his bed."