AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to install air conditioning in every state prison by Dec. 31, 2029, ruling that housing inmates in uncooled units violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s 150-page order requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to immediately begin developing a plan for the installations. As of Sept. 1, just over a third of the agency’s 104 facilities were fully air conditioned, leaving roughly 90,000 incarcerated people without cool housing.

The ruling noted that TDCJ has acknowledged 23 heat-related deaths in its facilities between 1998 and 2012, plus three more in 2023, with plaintiffs presenting evidence of additional deaths between 2023 and 2025. The agency has estimated that systemwide air conditioning would cost about $1.5 billion.

TDCJ said it disagrees with Pitman’s finding of “deliberate indifference” and plans to appeal. Plaintiff groups, including Texas Prison Community Advocates and the Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance, called the ruling a major victory.

Sources

• The Texas Tribune
• KUT
• Houston Chronicle