Judge Rules Texas Heat Conditions in Prison Unconstitutional
Nearly two-thirds of Texas prisons are not fully air conditioned, and dozens of incarcerated people have died in the sweltering heat
Yesterday, a federal judge ruled 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 judge affirmed claims brought by advocates of people incarcerated in the state, where summer heat routinely soars above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). But they will have to continue pressing their lawsuit later in a trial.
“This case concerns the plainly unconstitutional treatment of some of the most vulnerable, marginalized members of our society,” U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his ruling on a a temporary injunction request. “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 (prison),” could not be accomplished before it expired in 90 days. It would take months to install temporary air conditioning, and could even delay a permanent solution, the judge wrote in the ruling. Pitman said he expects the case will proceed to trial, where advocates for prisoners can continue to argue their case, and issued a warning to the state that they will likely win at trial, and that the state could face an order to install air conditioning.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2023 by Bernie Tiede, a 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. The lawsuit argues the heat in the state facilities amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, and seeks to force the state to install air conditioning.
Jeff Edwards, lead attorney for prisoners and advocates, called the judge’s order a victory, even if it didn’t require an immediate fix. “We proved our case,” Edwards said. “The court made it very clear what the state is doing is unconstitutional and endangering the lives of those they are supposed to be protecting ...This is step one in changing the Texas prison system.”
Edwards said advocates will push for relief for prisoners as quickly as possible. “I’m regretful we can’t protect them with temporary relief this summer, but we will move as fast as we can,” he said.
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. Texas is not alone in facing lawsuits over dangerously hot prisons. Cases also have been filed in Louisiana and New Mexico. One filed in July in Georgia alleged a man died in July 2023 after he was left in an outdoor cell for hours without water, shade or ice.
A November 2022 study by researchers at Brown, Boston and Harvard universities found that 13% — or 271 — of the deaths in Texas prisons 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.
