“He said the heat in there is extremely overwhelming and it's hard to even breathe. He's a young man (24) and healthy …. He has already lost 7 pounds since first of May.” 

Can you imagine spending days and nights on end in the heat and humidity, laying on the concrete floor in your toilet water hoping for some reprieve, or wearing a heavy vest and security equipment with only a warm bottle of water for hours? Did you know that Texas prisons documented temperatures up to 149°F in 2011?

People are being TORTURED and DYING in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)! 

The state of Texas is allowing its citizens, both staff and prison residents, to be tortured by dangerous heat and humidity levels. It is a travesty that this problem has been allowed to continue for well over 100 years.  If your home's air conditioning suddenly quit on a hot summer day in Texas, how quickly would you get it repaired? 

“My son tells me it's so hot he puts water on the floor n lays down on it; he also wets his towel n puts it over his head n it drys up so quick cuz of the heat” 

Texas Jails have a temperature standard of 65° to 85°. Why don't Texas prisons have the same standard? Despite millions of dollars spent in lawsuits, several deaths, many media reports, and complaints from families and union officials, Texas still refuses to rectify this unconstitutional and inhumane treatment. The cruel and inhumane treatment of people behind bars also impacts their families (mothers, fathers, wives, and husbands), who suffer along with them. What if it was your loved one? This immoral behavior of allowing people to be tortured by deadly heat conditions must cease. 

“..in the dinner line or lunch line and when u sat down to eat sometimes they close u in with no fans going and no air conditioning at all with about 50 to 100 inmates; plus how hot the kitchen is from cooking. It's like suffocating.” 

 Yet, despite several deaths, a plethora of media reports, numerous wrongful death lawsuits filed, and complaints from family members and union officials for DECADES, TDCJ and our Texas legislators have still NOT taken basic steps to provide humane conditions for the people in their care or for those employed by TDCJ. It seems reasonable that if TDCJ has money in the budget to replace its aging swine-production facilities with six new climate-controlled modular barns at a cost of $750,000, surely they could treat those within their facilities the same as they do their pigs.

 “..he says the cells are just heat boxes. When he wets a towel, it dries up in minutes.

 “…it was extremely hot in the dorms, I remember laying on the floor with no shirt on, just in my sports bra just to get cool. Some ladies would get their sheets wet in the shower just to stay cool. “

What are we asking for?

We're asking for the same living conditions the Texas Commission on Jail Standards already requires for all county jails. Every county jail must maintain an internal temperature between 65 and 85 degrees in all its facilities. The same standards should apply to all of the state's facilities for incarceration. Please add your voice and agreement that this needs to be changed by signing this petition. Your voice matters, and you can make a difference.

Your voice matters, and you can make a difference.