A prisoner at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Ill., is suing prison employees, demanding $12 million for being subjected to secondhand tobacco smoke, the Madison Record reported March 13.

Inmate Edward Hanks, serving a 100-year sentence for rape and robbery, told the U.S. District Court that he has repeatedly told prison staff that secondhand smoke was affecting his health; he said he was assigned to a cell with a smoker when he complained. 

Hanks takes medication for high blood pressure and said tobacco smoke gives him fevers, headaches, chest pain, and shortness of breath. He also claimed that the protective-custody unit where he is housed has higher levels of smoke than other parts of the prison, constituting cruel and inhuman punishment.

His court filing also included complaints about the size of the prison's recreation yard, lack of toilets, and other grievances.