Prisons

Under a little-known Texas elections law, state prison inmates who are actively appealing their convictions are eligible to register and vote.

The state of Texas is being sued over the lack of air conditioning in its prisons, where indoor temperatures can top 100 degrees in the summer. In federal court, inmates detailed the extreme measures they’ve taken to get out of the heat, like starting fires or inflicting self-harm.

Newly released autopsies show extreme temperatures in state prisons may have contributed to multiple recent deaths behind bars. But the state says heat hasn’t killed any prisoners in more than a decade. A lawsuit challenging Texas prison heat protocols will be heard in federal court on Tuesday.

Prison book programs have been sending free books to Texas prisons for years, but recently, they've been told they're no longer allowed to under a Texas Department of Criminal Justice policy they say they've never heard of before.

“This is one situation in which they can take control of their narrative, so they can rewrite the story and envision a world in which they are not seen as the bad guys, but the heroes who can save the world.”

The courts, along with federal and state lawmakers, have created a series of barriers against improving prison conditions with air conditioning.

Temperatures in cells often stay in the 90s for hours and can reach into the triple digits. Officials say there is no evidence the heat is killing prisoners, despite a spike in prison deaths that independent analysts attribute to the heat.

Prison researchers were shocked to learn that women in Texas Department of Criminal Justice's security detention are issued a thick white gown instead of the two-piece uniform men are issued. No official explanation was offered.

In some prisons temperatures can reach triple-digit temperatures in the summer. A North Texas lawmaker is pushing for a law requiring temperatures to remain between 65 and 85 degrees.

Thursday's ruling was clear, and close to unanimous, with only Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent.