“Help us!” came the cries from inside St Louis’s notorious “workhouse” jail last Tuesday night. Men and women locked up there had apparently been begging for assistance for days, but on this night, their pleas happened to be heard by someone on the outside, who posted a video of the disturbing scene on Facebook.

The footage soon went viral and by Friday night, protesters had surrounded the jail, demanding the facility be closed because the nearly 850 people inside were suffering from the week’s brutal heat wave. With temperatures topping 100 degrees outside, those awaiting trial in their airless cells were enduring an unimaginable 115 degrees.

Authorities pepper-sprayed the protesters, and eventually arrested several. But they returned the next night. And their persistence worked. By Monday morning five industrial-sized air-conditioning units had been ordered, bringing the temperature inside the facility down to a much more humane 78 degrees.