You’re In Hot Water, If You’re In Prison

A heat wave that has consistently pushed temperatures well above 100 degrees across much of Texas this summer had family members of inmates on Tuesday calling for lawmakers to ensure that all of the state’s prisons are fully air-conditioned. Advocates and others have been highly critical of the lack of air-conditioning in the nation’s most extensive prison system, alleging temperatures that often go past 120 degrees inside Texas prisons in the summer have been responsible for hundreds of inmate deaths in recent years. Only about 30% of Texas’ 100 prison units are fully air-conditioned, with the rest having partial or no air conditioning. Texas currently has more than 128,000 inmates.