WACO, Texas (KXXV) — A federal trial in Austin is putting Texas prison conditions under scrutiny, focusing on whether extreme heat inside facilities without air conditioning violates inmates’ constitutional rights.
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The case centers on conditions inside state prisons and whether the lack of air conditioning poses a serious health risk to those incarcerated.
Advocates argue extreme heat inside some facilities has led to dangerous, and in some cases, deadly conditions.
Two former inmates who served time in prisons without air conditioning are now testifying in the trial, sharing their experiences and concerns.
Jennifer Toon described the anticipation of rising temperatures inside prison facilities.
“When it came around to April or May, you just start getting this dread. You just start dreading what is to come, and so we're already hearing that of like, you know, the summer's approaching and so just everybody full of dread of what's to come this summer.”
Marci Simmons said she believes the evidence presented in court shows the risks inmates face.
“I think that our attorneys did an incredible job at presenting really all of the evidence that Judge Pittman will need to see, to see that the state is quite deliberately incarcerating people in these kind of dangerous temperatures, and they know about it.”
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. However, according to the agency’s website, some prison units are fully air conditioned, while others rely on measures such as fans, access to water and adjusted schedules during extreme heat.
Toon also questioned whether current efforts are sufficient.
“‘Look at how far we've come. There's 10,000 incarcerated folks at the women's facility. There's 7,000 beds.’ The point that us and our attorneys made is that, ‘Yeah, and there's about 3,000 to 4,000 that don't.’ Like when we're talking about life and death, this is not good enough and it's not fast enough.”
Simmons said she hopes the outcome of the trial leads to broader changes across the state.
“Our hope is that the judge would say ‘Yes, this is a violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution,’ and he orders Texas prisons to put climate control in every single facility so incarcerated Texans are protected.”
The trial is expected to continue in the coming days as both sides present testimony that could shape the future of prison conditions across Texas.
