State won't give up fight over air mattress

KINGSLEY (AP) — A dispute over a Michigan prisoner’s air mattress is returning to a federal appeals court.

The state again is vowing to appeal a decision that gives a special mattress to Richard Boone II, who has pain due to a history of leg and hip problems.

Boone, 45, is a convicted robber at the Pugsley prison near Traverse City. In November, a federal court in Cincinnati overturned a decision that granted him the air mattress.

The appeals court said Detroit federal Judge Arthur Tarnow didn’t follow the correct procedure for an injunction. In February, Tarnow held a hearing and approved the mattress again.

Corrections officials claim other prisoners will demand a special mattress if Boone can have one. A state lawyer has described prison mattresses as “crappy.”