According to data published this week in the Dallas Morning News, "indoor temperature in at least 15 state-run jails and prisons exceeded 100 degrees last summer."
This follows a report from the Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center last year that found that temperatures inside Texas prisons regularly reached 110 degrees and 149 in at least one unit.
“This data supports that the conditions are inhumane. We have to bring humanity back into politics. There are just some things that should not be so.” Rep. Carl Sherman
These harsh conditions are why Texas lawmakers are debating whether to install air conditioning at its more than 100 prisons across the state. Texas is one of 13 states that does not have universal air-conditioning in its state prisons.
The "inhumane" conditions faced by prisoners in Texas were highlighted during the heat of the Texas summer last year by reporter Keri Blakinger when she posted on Twitter. She posted that the conditions last summer were "worse than other years... not necessarily because of the heat but because of the heat plus the lack of staff available to do anything to mitigate it."
Blakinger's Twitter post attracted hundreds of comments, including some from family members of inmates currently serving time in Texas prisons.
"Spoke with a long time guard last week who said she and others are very concerned. Ice makers can't keep up with need. Not enough staff to properly transport in so delays in delivery. Yesterday Lane Murray Unit has forbid showers and using water with threats of being written up." @CuriousDM
In 2022, two dozen staff and 11 inmates fell ill from the extreme heat conditions in the prison system.
There are currently 20 lawsuits against Texas related to extreme heat in prisons. While fighting these lawsuits is projected to cost $7 million, installing air conditioning would cost $4 million.
“It’s like a rotisserie. But [the data] doesn’t, in my opinion, give a real accurate reading of what humans, what they’re subject to.” Rep. Carl Sherman
Your thoughts
Do you believe the conditions for prisoners in Texas should be better? What should be done to ensure the conditions in summer are better for them? Would you like some of the budget surplus to improve the conditions in Texas prisons?