Texas’ $1.3 Billion Fix to Cool Deadly Hot Prisons Goes to Trial
Bloomberg Law News • • nation
Key Points:
- A federal judge will oversee a bench trial starting Monday in Austin to evaluate Texas’s $1.3 billion plan to install air conditioning in all prisons by 2033, following heat-related deaths and illnesses among inmates.
- Texas currently has about 52,438 air-conditioned prison beds with 31,506 more planned, but around 40% of inmates would still lack AC after these projects, raising concerns about funding and timeline feasibility.
- Plaintiffs argue the state is deliberately indifferent to inmate suffering due to extreme heat, citing studies estimating hundreds of heat-related deaths over two decades, and are seeking a court order for faster, system-wide AC installation.
- The state acknowledges the goal to air condition all prisons but cites funding and time constraints, having allocated $204 million so far and projecting an additional $620 million in future legislative sessions to meet the 2033 target.
- Judge Robert Pitman has ruled that lack of resources is not a valid defense against constitutional claims but has yet to impose a strict timeline; the trial will determine if the state's efforts are sincere or constitutionally inadequate.
