Inside many Texas Department of Criminal Justice housing areas, interior temperatures regularly climb into the 90s and sometimes past 100°F during the April through September stretch, according to a new analysis of prison temperature logs. Those numbers are now a central piece of evidence in a federal lawsuit, with plaintiffs set to spotlight the data when the state defends its heat policies in court next month.
New statewide data
The Texas Newsroom and Media Innovation Group examined daily 3 p.m. indoor readings from April 1 through Sept. 30 for the years 2022 through 2025 and found that all but one unit without full air conditioning hit at least 85°F at some point, with 90°F readings appearing frequently and some units topping 100°F, according to Houston Public Media. The reporting also notes that the agency revised its excessive-temperature policy last April and stopped tracking which days higher-level Incident Command System safeguards were triggered, a move critics say makes it harder to see when emergency protocols are actually being used.
Court fight next month
Lawyers for incarcerated people and advocacy groups argue that the heat inside these facilities amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, and the state is preparing to defend its approach in federal court next month. A federal judge has previously described housing people in uncooled prisons as “plainly unconstitutional” but declined to immediately order air conditioning, according to The Texas Tribune. The court has asked both sides to lay out a proposed timeline for next steps, and the outcome could put pressure on lawmakers to consider large new funding requests.
How many facilities are affected
The state runs 103 prison facilities. Of those, 37 units are fully air-conditioned and 52 have partial cooling, while 66 do not have full air conditioning, leaving roughly 141,000 people in uncooled housing, according to analysis by the Texas Newsroom. The data also highlights some of the hottest spots: Lucile Plane State Jail, a women’s unit near Dayton, recorded more days above 95°F than below that mark and reached triple digits eight times in 2023, while the Garza West Unit near Beeville saw near-daily 85°F readings last summer and dozens of 95°F days during the 2023 heat wave.
What the state says
Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials say the agency has a slate of heat-mitigation measures in place, including extra water, designated respite areas, fans, heat-sensitive housing assignments and newly created “Heat Strike Teams.” They argue that installing permanent air conditioning throughout every housing area would be expensive and would not happen overnight. Court filings and news coverage indicate the agency has estimated that systemwide permanent installation could cost roughly $1.1 billion to build, with about $20 million in annual operating costs, and that the department is seeking legislative funding to expand cooling, The Texas Tribune reported.
Plaintiffs’ claims and health risks
Attorneys for the plaintiffs say temporary measures cannot fully protect people from heat-related deaths or serious illness. “There is no mitigation measure other than air conditioning that can protect people from death or sickness due to the heat,” a plaintiffs’ lawyer told the Texas Newsroom. The complaint cites recent autopsies, along with first-hand accounts of people passing out, water supplies running out and incarcerated people avoiding medical care during temperature spikes.
Why this matters now
Advocates say the combination of fresh heat data and looming court deadlines could finally push lawmakers to act during this legislative session, or else leave the issue to be resolved at trial. For more background on the earlier filings and organizing that set the stage for the current lawsuit, see how advocacy groups sue Texas over prison heat.
