It's time to lower the temperatures in state prisons

Prisons across Texas are experiencing heat again this summer. This creates dangerous conditions for inmates – most of whom are non-violent offenders – who are serving their sentences before they can return to society, as well as for those who must report to work each day in this sweltering environment. The majority of Texas's roughly 100 prisons do not have air conditioning, creating unbearable conditions for the people who live and work in these buildings during these increasingly hot summer months.

Periods of extreme heat contribute to a significant increase in violence, suicides and deaths among inmates. At the Pam Lychner State Jail in Humble, for example, there were 15 days of triple-digit heat in living quarters last summer. These are the conditions endured by hundreds of staff and roughly 2,000 inmates at the Lychner.

And that wasn't even the worst case scenario. At Garza West Prison in Beeville, temperatures inside exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit on 42 days.

When you replicate these experiences in the 66 other Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities that still lack adequate climate control, you get a sense of the magnitude of the problem. The situation is not limited to the incarcerated population. Staffing is already a critical challenge for TDCJ. We have experienced major problems, including prison breakouts, related to the agency's staffing shortages.

Although there have been improvements, TDCJ still has one of the worst turnover rates among state agencies, ranking virtually second only to the juvenile corrections system. Despite significant investments to improve retention, including salary increases for correctional staff and improving correctional officer safety, the impact of extreme heat on correctional officers' work environments plays a key role in staffing issues.

In testimony before the House in 2022, the TDCJ's executive director testified that working in air-conditioned spaces would improve recruitment and retention. Again, there are real legal obligations here. The record heat wave in 2011 caused several deaths and led to a multi-year court case in which a judge concluded that the extreme heat in one prison unit violated the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The settlement in that case ultimately cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees that exceeded the cost of installing air conditioning in that particular unit. Today, we have a very similar lawsuit demanding air conditioning in the remaining prison units. For decades, state law required county jails to keep their facilities within a reasonable temperature range, not exceeding 90 degrees.

In federal prisons, temperatures cannot exceed 79 degrees. However, this rule does not apply to state prisons. In 2023, the average prison temperature exceeded 90 degrees on 69 days, compromising the safety of incarcerated Texans and staff alike.

In the last legislative session, lawmakers allocated $85.7 million to install air conditioning enough to cool about 11,000 prisoner beds. While that's a significant investment, more than 85,000 prisoner housing units still lack air conditioning. This problem isn't going away, and half measures won't solve it. For the sake of incarcerated Texans and the security guards who work there, Texas must fully commit to a plan to install air conditioning in all prisons.

If we fail to do so, the cost in taxpayers' money and human lives will continue to rise, as will the temperature.

Soberon is a policy advisor to Texas 2036.