16 Oct Federal Judge Orders all Texas Prisons to Install Air Conditioning by 2029, Declaring Heat Conditions Plainly Unconstitutional
Erica Grossman was co-counsel in a federal case in Texas where the judge ordered air conditioning to be installed throughout the prisons. For years, people have been essentially cooked to death every summer because TDCJ keeps them in cells that reach 130 heat indexes every summer. This is a resounding victory for the nearly 90,000 individuals incarcerated in extreme heat in Texas prisons without air conditioning. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman has declared these extreme temperatures to be cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. TDCJ has now been ordered to air condition all Texas prisons by December 31, 2029.
Hundreds of people have needlessly died, and thousands of others have suffered and continue to suffer in Texas prisons every summer—including corrections officers throughout the system. The relief ordered by the Court will save countless lives, enable incarcerated individuals to serve their sentences without enduring needless and unconstitutional suffering, and provide relief for everyone who lives and works in these torturous conditions. TDCJ is appealing the order.
You can read more about this case in the NY Times, Houston Chronicle and the Texas Tribune.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (10/15/2026). Photo by Emiliano Bar on Unsplash