In court hearings last week, they complained of inhuman jail conditions.

He also said that given the jail conditions and his client's desire to return to India, the plea was the best decision.

He said the restrictive jail conditions had made it impossible for him to prepare an adequate defense for trial.

Last year, a federal judge refused to lift the decree, finding that jail conditions remain unconstitutional.

Judge Sand continued to express concerns yesterday about the jail conditions, particularly because of their duration.

He also said that the Mississippi investigation should be the starting point toward looking at jail conditions elsewhere.

"The judges are totally aware that we have overcrowded jail conditions, and when it's appropriate, they will release someone."

The wider investigation, into jail conditions across the country, will be led by "ministers and other figures," he said.

Pre-trial jail conditions may be more severe than prison conditions.

It also described the jail conditions as "deplorable and dangerously overcrowded."