Republicans' Complicity In Cooking Prisoners To Death In TDCJ

Prison conditions for most inmates in Texas are cruel and unconstitutional. The battle for basic human dignity has been met by the GOP with indifference.

https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/republicans-complicity-in-cooking


This month alone, nine incarcerated people have died in heart attacks or unknown causes in prisons lacking air conditioning, including two men in their 30s. While the TDCJ refused to label these deaths as “heat-related,” these men are often locked away inside metal and concrete prisons that reach heat indexes of 150°.

This has been going on for a long time. Over the last few decades, dozens, if not hundreds, of TDCJ inmates have died due to heat-related deaths.

Below is a short (20-minute) documentary made by the Marshall Project, a criminal justice watchdog, back in 2017. It’s eye-opening and well worth the watch. It discusses the issue of extreme heat in prisons, particularly in Texas, where many prisons lack air conditioning. And it highlights cases where inmates have suffered heat-related illnesses and died due to improper cooling measures.

Lawsuits have been filed against Texas for inhumane conditions and wrongful deaths related to extreme heat in prisons. Experts argue that fans and other measures are insufficient to combat the heat, and air conditioning is the most effective solution.