Leaving prisoners to suffer in Texas
RECENTLY, AS temperatures in Houston rose to 101 degrees Fahrenheit, the air conditioning at my apartment broke. As I spent the night sweating, I couldn't help but think about a segment of our population that experiences this every night--the approximately 155,000 inmates in Texas prisons.
While many refer to Texas as "the air conditioning capital of the world," and cold air blasts out from almost every store, house and car, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC) cruelly denies this basic comfort to prisoners. TDCJ admits that 93 of the 112 state prisons are not air-conditioned. And the reality is that at the few prisons equipped with air conditioning, mostly facilities for the sick and mentally ill, the service is often spotty. Officials claim it's a question of "prioritizing resources."
Across Texas, the heat index routinely tops 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with humidity making the air thick with moisture. Measures to escape the heat here are not a convenience--they are a necessity. In some locations, rudimentary air-circulating systems blow steamy heat from one cell to the next, which is hardly a solution.
The only provisions allowed to prisoners to escape this intense heat are small electric fans. Even this small amount of relief is costly; the fans are sold to prisoners for $22.
The result of TDCJ's cruel denial of air conditioning takes its toll. The intense heat of July and August has yet to hit, and already, nine inmates and seven prison employees have been treated for heat-related illnesses so far this year.
The reality is that far more people in Texas prisons are suffering from the heat. Prisoners are forced to resort to desperate measures to attempt to cool down. "The bricks heat up, the bars heat up," Kevin Kreyssig, a prisoner told the Houston Chronicle, "It gets up to 105, 108. We spill water on the floor, lie down and point our little fans straight on us...It doesn't cool down enough to sleep till 3 a.m."
TDJC and the state of Texas should be ashamed of their treatment of prisoners. Not having air conditioning during the summer in Texas is nothing less than torture. In a state not known for decency in prisons, this stands out as particularly, and unnecessarily, cruel treatment.
Laura Taylor, Houston, Texas
