While it varies somewhat based on location, summer in Texas usually means one thing for certain — extremely hot temperatures. Whether it's the dry heat of the arid climate found in the western part of the state or the damp, steamy humidity of Eastern Texas, summer reliably brings temperatures near or above 100 degrees for weeks each year.
When those brutally hot days occur, escaping to the relief offered by air conditioning is the go-to method for most Texans. For the majority of inmates in Texas prisons, that option isn't on the table. A suit filed by a prisoner looking to change that received a boost on March 26, 2025. A federal judge ruled that keeping inmates in cells without air conditioning is "plainly unconstitutional."
Instead of ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to immediately rectify the issue, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman will allow the case to continue to a bench trial. The original plaintiff was joined in April by four nonprofit organizations representing every inmate in the state incarcerated in an uncooled prison.
It's Not the Heat, It's the Humidity (and Also the Heat)
Texas has watched its average summer temperatures and number of days over 100 degrees climb steadily each year due to climate change. In 2023, the state recorded an average daily high temperature of 98.3 degrees and some locations, such as Austin, experienced 78 days of temperatures reaching or exceeding 100 degrees.
Around 140,000 people are incarcerated in state prisons under the custody of the TDCJ. Fewer than half are in a facility with air conditioning. The TDCJ received funding in 2025 to install more air conditioning, but it will still leave tens of thousands without cooling. In those locations, the TDCJ states that other forms of relief are available such as cold showers, respite areas, and ice. Inmates can purchase fans, cooling towels, and electrolyte drinks.
The TDCJ regularly requests an increase in their budget in order to equip all of their facilities with air conditioning. Several bills have been proposed in the Texas House of Representatives, but few find any support in the conservative Texas Senate. Texas law requires county jails to maintain temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees, but currently there's no such requirement for state prisons.
Can I See Another's Woe, and Not Be in Sorrow Too?
The original plaintiff, Bernhardt Tiede II, didn't file his lawsuit in 2024 with statewide institutional change as the objective. Claiming unlawful and unjust behavior on the part of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the interim attorney general Angela Colmenero, and the Office of the Attorney General, Tiede was seeking release after having paroled in 2014 and reincarcerated in 2016.
Tiede named the TDCJ for the conditions he was forced to live under once again in prison in the Estelle Unit in Huntsville. A 65-year-old man who claims his mental and physical health have declined precipitously as he endured temperatures above 110 degrees in his cell, Tiede became so ill on June 22, 2023 that he was taken to an emergency room.
Already suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, Emphysema, Diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and dental disease, Tiede's health further deteriorated after being returned to his uncooled cell. His suit claims continued violations of his Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, Fifth Amendment Rights to Due Process, and Equal Protections as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Sure, Hop On
Determining exactly how many inmates die due to complications caused by exposure to excessive heat can be difficult to pin down, but critics claim the state hides behind vagaries to keep the true number obscured. After Judge Pitman's ruling, advocates for prisoners' rights saw an opportunity to force the Texas legislature to address the issue by joining as plaintiffs on Tiede's lawsuit.
With Paxson on record as saying Texas taxpayers "shouldn’t be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to pay for expensive prison air conditioning systems" because they're not constitutionally mandated and the Texas Senate against it as well, the looming trial is important to many others beyond the original plaintiff Tiede. For those sweltering in cells reaching temperatures above 100 degrees, it could be a matter of life and death.
Related Resources
- Prisoners' Rights (FindLaw's Other Constitutional Rights)
- Heat Wave Injuries and Illnesses: Who's Liable? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Parole Violation (FindLaw's Criminal Charges)
