I didn't poison prisoners- Says Ex-Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger

 Arnold Schwarzenegger is still being haunted by his political past ... the ex-Gov. is being sued by inmates who accuse him of sentencing them to a fate worse than prison -- a cruel, disfiguring and crippling disease.

According to the lawsuit filed by 22 current and former inmates ... Schwarzenegger and other officials knowingly kept them in a Central Cali prison where they claim Valley Fever killed 30 inmates, and left many more with horrible symptoms.

Valley Fever attacks the body's organs ... victims may suffer skin lesions, limb amputations and brain damage. The disease is spread by spores found in soil -- and the inmates say they were exposed to it.
They want cash to cover medical care, and pain and suffering -- beyond the typical prison pain and suffering.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is NOT responsible for exposing prison inmates to a leprosy-like disease while governor ... so says The Terminator himself.

Schwarzenegger claims in new legal docs ... he is not personally responsible for an outbreak in Pleasant Valley State Prison, where spores in the soil triggered an epidemic of Valley Fever -- a disease that attacks the body's organs and leads to skin lesions, amputations and brain damage.
Arnold's being sued by inmates who claim they got sick because of his indifference -- warehousing prisoner where dangerous spores were in abundance. 

But in the court docs Arnold says he was not indifferent ... he even held a news conference acknowledging the problem.  But he says he was busy running the state and others were responsible for solving prison problems.

In essence ... Arnold is saying he's not personally responsible but if his underlings screwed up then the State might be on the hook.