Federal judge orders Texas to air-condition its state prisons

A federal judge has ordered Texas to air-condition all its state prisons by 2029, a move long sought by advocates in a state where sweltering summers leave inmates' cells baking – sometimes to death – in the heat with little to no relief.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Sept. 22 ruled that current conditions in Texas prisons violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The state's Department of Criminal Justice must complete installation by Dec. 31, 2029, and cost will not be an excuse, Pitman ordered. The department's progress on efforts to add air-conditioned beds wasn't enough, Pitman said.

"(I)n a state where outdoor heat indexes exceed 130 degrees, inmates in Texas prisons are suffering – and in some cases dying – in extreme heat every summer," Pitman wrote in a 150-page ruling.

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit originally filed in 2023 by Bernhardt Tiede (who was convicted of killing Marjorie Nugent in 1996 and was the inspiration for the film "Bernie" in which he was depicted by Jack Black). The suit later included multiple organizations, including the Texas Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, Inc. and Texas Prisons Community Advocates.

A trial was held…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/