Judge says extreme heat in Texas prisons is unconstitutional but doesn’t order they install AC

States pressured over hot prisons

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge's rebuke of Texas housing prisoners in lockups without air conditioning stopped short of ordering a fix before summer in what has become one of the country's biggest lawsuits over keeping prisoners safe during dangerous…

US federal judge finds extreme heat in Texas prison unconstitutional

US District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday held Wednesday that the extreme heat in Texas prisons is “plainly unconstitutional” while denying a temporary injunction request to install air conditioning in the prisons. According to the court, “Texas has more than 130,000 people serving time in prisons, more than any state in the US. Only about a third of roughly 100 prison units are fully air-conditioned and the rest have either partial or no ele…

Texas prisons face legal reckoning over dangerous summer heat, but no AC order yet

A federal judge ruled that extreme heat in Texas prisons violates constitutional protections but stopped short of ordering the state to install air conditioning.Jim Vertuno reports for The Associated Press.In short:A federal judge found that the heat in Texas prisons likely constitutes cruel and unusual punishment but declined to mandate immediate installation of air conditioning due to cost and logistical concerns.The ruling stems from a 2023 l…

Justice reform nonprofit declares 'state of emergency' at 201 Poplar after A/C outage

The criminal justice reform nonprofit Just City has declared a "state of emergency" at 201 Poplar due to the poor conditions there. The announcement came after the jail spent days without air conditioning.

Federal judge says heat in Texas prisons is unconstitutional but does not order immediate A/C

A federal judge has decided not to order temporary air conditioning be installed in all Texas prisons, allowing a lawsuit against the state to move forward while admitting that the problem will be costly to fix.

Louisiana inmates renew push for heat protections at Angola prison, call conditions 'modern-day slavery'

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- Attorneys representing Angola inmates assigned to prison farm work are once again asking a federal judge to order heat protections before the upcoming summer. The plaintiffs initially requested an emergency order from the federal court in May 2024 to halt outdoor work on the Farm Line during extreme summer heat. Arguments were heard in June, and by early July, the court granted an order requiring the state t…