New Suit Blames Death on Heat in Texas Prison

Texas is facing more pressure over what advocates describe as oven-like prison cells that have been linked to illness and death. The family of Jason Wilson, who died in July 2024 while being held alone for 23 hours a day at the state's Coffield Unit, has filed a federal wrongful-death suit alleging he was subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" in a sweltering, uncooled cell without adequate water, showers, or wellness checks. A separate federal lawsuit seeks to force the state to install air conditioning in all Texas prisons within three years, the Guardian reports.

More than 85,000 of the state's 141,000 inmates are housed in units without AC, where indoor temperatures can top 115 degrees; one reading hit 149. The prison system acknowledged three heat-related deaths in 2023 but denies any since. Advocates say conditions include outages of water and electricity and prisoners lying in toilet water to cool down. Texas could tap a $27 billion rainy day fund to pay an estimated $1.3 billion for systemwide AC, but that would require legislative approval—and, opponents argue, an admission by prison officials that the crisis is as severe as inmates and their families contend.

• A Houston Chronicle opinion piece looks at what a lack of air conditioning means in a Texas prison.