Texas prison officials have taken steps in recent months to protect older inmates from extreme heat ahead of a federal trial that will examine whether conditions in the state’s corrections system are unconstitutionally cruel.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice recently changed its regulations so that people over the age of 65 automatically qualify for air-conditioned housing, according to a motion filed by the state in the case.
Three nonprofit groups, which represent inmates statewide, have sued Texas over the sweltering conditions of its prisons. Texas runs the largest corrections system in the country — with about 135,000 inmates — and more than 60 percent of its prison beds lack air conditioning.
One study estimated that heat contributed to the deaths of 14 Texas inmates on average every year between 2001 and 2019.
