A federal judge has found the extreme heat in Texas prisons that don’t have air conditioning is “plainly unconstitutional.”.
Read full article: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base The Old Florida Capitol is seen with the tower of the current Florida Capitol rising behind, during a legislative session in Tallahassee, Fla.
, Thursday, March 6, 2025. Florida House overwhelmingly approves bill allowing families to hold doctors, hospitals accountable for malpractice Read full article: Florida House overwhelmingly approves bill allowing families to hold doctors, hospitals accountable for malpracticeCouncilman says city’s General Counsel has ‘lost the trust and confidence’ of city councilDEALS 4 JAX Spring is in the air, and it's time to get ready for nicer weather with some exclusive Insider Deals.Read full article: Spring into savings for home, style and relaxation with these Insider DealsEither this is the best Microsoft Office deal ever, or someone hit the wrong buttonFILE - Advocates for cooling Texas prisons construct a makeshift cell before a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The group is called for an emergency special session to address the deadly heat effecting inmates. A federal judge on Wednesday found the extreme heat in Texas prisons is “plainly unconstitutional,” but declined to order the state to immediately start installing air conditioning, which could cost billions. The ruling affirmed claims brought by advocates of people incarcerated in Texas, where summer heat routinely soars above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for weeks. But they will have to continue pressing their lawsuit later in a trial., the former mortician serving a life sentence whose murder case inspired the movie “Bernie.” Several prisoners’ rights groups then asked to join his legal fight and expand it to encompass all Texas prisoners. The lawsuit argues the hot conditions in the state facilities amount to cruel and unusual punishment, and seeks to force the state to install air conditioning. Texas has more than than 130,000 people serving time in prisons, more than any state in the U.S. Only about a third of roughly 100 prison units are fully air conditioned and the rest have either partial or no electrical cooling. “This case concerns the plainly unconstitutional treatment of some of the most vulnerable, marginalized members of our society,” U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman wrote in his ruling on a request for a temporary injunction against the state. “The Court is of the view that excessive heat is likely serving as a form of unconstitutional punishment.” But the judge said that ordering the state to spend “hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars to install permanent air conditioning in every ,” could not be accomplished before such an order would expire. Pittman said he expects the case will proceed to trial, where advocates for prisoners can continue to argue their case. He also issued a warning to the state that they will likely win at trial that the state could face an order to install air conditioning. The judge also noted that the state Legislature, which is in session through May and writes the two-year state budget, is also considering bills that would require air conditioning to be installed in prisons. But the Republican-majority Legislature has been hearing complaints about extreme heat in prisons for years and has not addressed the issue. In 2018, the state was ordered to install air conditioning at a unit for older prisoners and those that are medically vulnerable. A lawyer for the plaintiffs and officials at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.alleged a man died in July 2023 after he was left in an outdoor cell for hours without water, shade or ice.without universal AC between 2001 and 2019 may be attributed to extreme heat. Prisoner advocates say those numbers are only likely to increase as the state faces more extreme weather and heat due to climate change. In a weeklong hearing that sought the order for air conditioning while the lawsuit proceeds, people who were formerly incarcerated testified about their experiences in hot prison buildings where they said temperatures reach above 120 degrees Fahrenheit . They testified some inmates would splash toilet water on themselves to cool off, fake suicide attempts to be moved to cooler medical areas, or even deliberately set fires so that guards would be forced to hose down cells. Texas Department of Criminal Justice Director Bryan Collier acknowledged that heat was a factor in three deaths from multiple causes in 2023, and that prison staff and inmates sometimes fall ill from high temperatures. But the state disputed the hundreds of deaths in recent years alleged by the prisoner advocates, and argues Texas has implemented effective heat mitigation measures, such as providing fans, towels and access to cooler “respite” areas. Collier also insisted he would like to have air conditioning installed across the prison system, but that state lawmakers have never agreed to spend enough money to do that. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Spring is in the air, and it's time to get ready for nicer weather with some exclusive Insider Deals.Read full article: Spring into savings for home, style and relaxation with these Insider DealsEither this is the best Microsoft Office deal ever, or someone hit the wrong button
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Extreme heat without AC in Texas prisons is unconstitutionally cruel punishment, judge rulesA federal judge has found the extreme heat in Texas prisons that don’t have air conditioning is “plainly unconstitutional.” But the judge declined Wednesday to order the state to immediately fix the problem, which could cost billions.
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Extreme heat without AC in Texas prisons is unconstitutionally cruel punishment, judge rulesA federal judge on Wednesday found the extreme heat in Texas prisons is “plainly unconstitutional.'
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