A federal judge has ordered Texas to install air conditioning in all of its prisons by the end of 2029. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled that inmates housed in facilities without air conditioning are subjected to cruel and unusual punishments, violating their constitutional rights.
The order specifies that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice must develop a plan to implement air conditioning in every prison where summer temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
In his 150-page ruling, Pitman cited testimony from individuals incarcerated in Texas prisons, describing how inmates would become sick, faint, and resort to splashing themselves with toilet water to cope with the extreme heat. "These are not humane conditions," Pitman wrote.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice estimates the cost of systemwide air conditioning to be approximately $1.5 billion. The agency has stated it is committed to increasing the number of air-conditioned beds in its facilities but did not immediately comment on the ruling.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2023 by Bernie Tiede, whose murder case was the inspiration for the film "Bernie." He was later joined by several prisoners' rights groups. In a prior ruling in 2025, Pitman had found the extreme heat in Texas prisons to be unconstitutional but did not at that time order immediate installation of air conditioning. The case proceeded to a trial earlier this year.
According to the ruling, about 37% of Texas prison beds, approximately 52,000, were equipped with full or partial air conditioning at the time of the trial. This left roughly 89,000 inmates without air conditioning heading into the summer months.
The ruling also noted that the agency has acknowledged 23 heat-related deaths between 1998 and 2012, and three more in 2023. Plaintiffs presented evidence of additional heat-related deaths from 2023 to 2025 that were at least partially attributed to heat.
Amite Dominick, founder and president of Texas Prisons Community Advocates, one of the plaintiffs, stated that the ruling demonstrates "that the state cannot keep treating human lives as a budget line." Dominick added, "We will be watching every deadline in this order."