Prison is supposed to be a punishment, but the heat in Texas’ prisons this summer is brutal and life-threatening. A potential death penalty that no judge ever ordered.
Roughly two-thirds of our state’s prisons don’t have air conditioning in most of the living and working areas. Fans push around hot air, and the few air-conditioned spaces, such as chapels and barbershops, provide only a little relief.
So prisoners get creative. They soak their T-shirts. Sleep on the floor. Or even flood their cells by clogging toilets. That last one is a sign of desperation: it’ll get you in trouble. Some days, the only relief is a chance to stand outside in the shade. But when outside temperatures stay stuck above 100 and inside temperatures climb even higher, not much helps.
