SB321 in the Texas Senate would solve this issue by requiring Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities maintain a temperature between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. County lockups already have to meet this requirement. State Senator Jose' Menendez, D-San Antonio, introduced the bill. The House version is HB936.
This article from the Marshall Project spells out the problems many Texas prisoners and guards face.
At least 24 prisoners have died from heat-related illnesses in the past 20 years, according to research from the Texas Observer. Ten alone died during a heat wave in 2011. And summers have not gotten any cooler since then.
What would this act of decency cost? Some Texas officials put the price at $1 billion. However, this article from the Texas Tribune explains how previous AC installation costs have been significantly less than initial estimates.
Even lower and more realistic cost estimates may be a hard sell for fiscal conservatives. I have three responses. 1. This is not coddling; this is basic humanity in a harsh environment. 2. Wrongful death lawsuits will continue to cost Texas taxpayers until this issue is corrected. 3. Renewable energy like solar power can greatly mitigate those costs.
Prisons in several states are seeing the benefits of solar energy. One example is St. Brides Correctional Center in Chesapeake, VA where solar power saves them $35,000 a year. It is little surprise that progressive California leads in this. The state saves tens of millions of dollars per year thanks to solar panels in at least four prisons. These panels did not cost the state's taxpayers a dime as utility company Sun Edison Corp. paid for the installation and sells the resulting energy to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at a discount.
I am not seeing a downside to this approach. Also, couldn't prisoner trustees be trained to do some solar panel installation and maintenance? This would not only save on construction and labor costs but also provide job training for a post-incarceration career.
Prolonged exposure to excessive heat can cause serious health issues, including coma and death for the most severe cases. Lesser but still significant symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke include nausea, vomiting, disorientation, confusion, and fainting. Such symptoms not only stress prisoners both physically and psychologically, but also make correctional officers' jobs even more dangerous and unpleasant. Is that inmate fake fainting to catch a CO offguard or is it a genuine medical emergency? Is that inmate intentionally being insubordinate or is she disoriented?
Lots of concrete and asphalt, poor air quality and a stagnant environment increase the likelihood of heat stroke. This describes Texas prisons. Certain health issues also make people more prone to heat stroke. Such factors include being over 50, mental health problems, being over or underweight, diabetes, high blood pressure, and sickle cell anemia. Many Texas prisoners, whose health care needs are seldom sufficiently met, suffer from at least one of these issues.
We are warned as the weather warms about the danger of locking pets and children in small, stifling spaces, e.g. cars, during the summer. Texas' inmates and COs face similar dangers and it is long past time Texas does the humane thing by ensuring all our correctional facilities can maintain a tolerable temperature between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Support SB321 and HB936.
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