The State of Indiana has agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to settle lawsuits involving conditions inside Miami Correctional Facility.
INDIANAPOLIS — The State of Indiana has agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to settle lawsuits involving conditions inside Miami Correctional Facility.
The lawsuits, brought by the ACLU of Indiana, involve 31 people who say they were held in cells with metal-covered windows and no working lights, leaving them in total or near-total darkness for extended periods.
According to court filings, some cells also contained exposed wiring, which plaintiffs say created additional danger.
The lawsuits allege inmates suffered serious physical and psychological harm, including panic attacks, hallucinations, injuries and self-harm.
The litigation began in 2021. The Indiana Department of Correction says the issues raised in the lawsuits have since been corrected.
State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-District 86) who has visited the facility multiple times since December, is also responding to the settlement.
DeLaney said his recent visits have focused on ICE detainees now being housed at the prison under a federal contract that began in late 2025.
Indiana agreed to house ICE detainees at the facility under a two-year agreement with federal immigration authorities.
While the lawsuits predate ICE’s use of the prison, DeLaney says the federal partnership has increased attention on conditions inside the facility.
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“They do have a right to be treated humanely, and apparently we have failed in that,” DeLaney said, speaking about the inmates from the lawsuit.
ICE detainees began arriving at Miami Correctional Facility in late 2025. Since then, the facility has come under additional scrutiny following the deaths of two detainees. One death has been ruled natural causes, while the second remains under investigation by federal authorities.
The Department of Homeland Security says detainees have access to medical, mental health and legal services and has pushed back on broader claims of unsafe conditions.
Congressman André Carson (D-7th District) also visited the facility last month, citing concerns raised by detainees about medical care and conditions inside.
Religious organizations have also held vigils outside the prison in response to ICE detainees being housed there.
DeLaney says he has not yet been able to meet with ICE detainees directly during this past visits but is working with federal officials to try to arrange access.