Texas attorneys and human rights advocates are leading a major lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for the lack of air conditioning in Texas prison. The suit alleges that inmates’ health is in danger and that more than 85,000 Texans are affected.
As reported by the Big Bend Sentinel, at the center of the case is Alpine-based attorney Jodi Cole, who last summer filed an emergency motion on behalf of Bernhard “Bernie” Tiede, a convicted murderer who claimed to have suffered a stroke due to extreme heat in his prison cell.
The lawsuit has garnered significant attention, with many hoping it will lead to better living conditions for incarcerated Texans. The case also shines a spotlight on Cole’s work, which began with her representation of Tiede, a figure whose story gained national attention through a 1998 Texas Monthly article and the 2012 film “Bernie,” directed by Richard Linklater.
The lawsuit alleges that in 2023, Tiede suffered a stroke in his cell, which had reached 112 degrees. While he survived the complication, there are many cases of prisoners who died in their cells because of the increasing temperatures in Texas summers.
A 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine, found that, on average, 14 deaths per year were associated with heat in the state prisons without AC. The study also says that 13% of inmates’ deaths are the direct result of extreme heat.
“Texas prisoners are being cooked to death,” reads the complaint, referencing the study.
Texas is one of the few states that doesn’t provide air conditioning in most of its prisons. In contrast, neighboring states like Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico do.
Federal prisons must maintain temperatures between 68 and 76 degrees. Even in Guantanamo Bay, where there were numerous reports of torture practices, maintained a cool temperature.
The lawsuit argues that forcing inmates to endure such extreme conditions violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.” Despite acknowledging the issue, the TDCJ said it lacks sufficient funding to equip all prisons with air conditioning.
As the case progresses, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman has set an August 20 deadline for additional filings before a final judgment. Cole remains optimistic, and determined to push for change. “I don’t want to hear about how things can never happen,” she said. “I want to know how they can happen, and if we need to create something or tear something down, that’s what I’m willing to do.”
