{"id":30475,"date":"2026-09-30T03:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T03:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30475"},"modified":"2026-09-30T03:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T03:01:19","slug":"texas-lionesses-win-major-prison-air-conditioning-fight-after-years-of-documenting-extreme-heat-court-orders-all-prisons-cooled-by-2029-with-88697-people-lacking-ac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30475","title":{"rendered":"Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 win major prison air-conditioning fight after years of documenting extreme heat; court orders all prisons cooled by 2029, with 88,697 people lacking AC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134573743,imgsize-88899,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prisons.jpg\" alt=\"Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 win major prison air-conditioning fight after years of documenting extreme heat; court orders all prisons cooled by 2029, with 88,697 people lacking AC\" title=\"Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 celebrate a major legal victory after years of fighting extreme heat in state prisons. (Photo: Getty Images)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 celebrate a major legal victory after years of fighting extreme heat in state prisons. (Photo: Getty Images)\">Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 celebrate a major legal victory after years of fighting extreme heat in state prisons. (Photo: Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They call themselves \u201clionesses\u201d for a reason. The women behind the Lioness Justice Impacted Women\u2019s Alliance say their name reflects the determination, loyalty and collective strength that have driven their fight for safer conditions inside Texas prisons.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>Founded in 2022 by a small group of formerly incarcerated women, the nonprofit has spent years pushing back against practices they say harm people caught in the criminal legal system. One of its biggest battles has been over extreme temperatures inside Texas prisons.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Now, a federal court has ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to air-condition all state prisons by December 31, 2029.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>The 19th reported that the ruling followed a lawsuit brought by Lioness alongside Texas Prisons Community Advocates and Texas Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants. <!-- -->U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found that the conditions violated the Eighth Amendment\u2019s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Nearly 89,000 people were in unair-conditioned units<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>In his 150-page order, Pitman wrote that approximately 88,697 incarcerated people were housed in units without air conditioning heading into summer 2026.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>Only about 37% of the TDCJ population had access to what the agency calls \u201ccool beds.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>The judge pointed to the extreme temperatures prisoners face during Texas summers, noting that outdoor heat indexes can rise above 130 degrees.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>Pitman wrote that incarcerated people in the state were \u201csuffering, and in some cases dying, in extreme heat every summer.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>The ruling sets a December 31, 2029 deadline for the state to complete the air-conditioning work. TDCJ must provide progress reports to the court every six months, and Texas plans to appeal.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>\u2018I don\u2019t know if I will survive this\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>For Marci Marie Simmons, Lioness\u2019 director of communications, the ruling is personal.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>Simmons spent 10 years incarcerated in a Texas prison and remembers what it was like to endure summer heat inside concrete and steel buildings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>\u201cI remember laying in my bunk \u2014 we weren\u2019t allowed to lay on the floor in that prison \u2014 and I remember thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I will survive this,\u2019\u201d Simmons said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>After the ruling, Simmons said Lioness staff were celebrating while also preparing for the next stage of the fight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>\u201cWe\u2019ve been laughing and crying and celebrating, and also, you know, preparing because we know that this is just one step in the fight,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>The organisation has only one full-time executive director and four part-time employees, all of whom are formerly incarcerated. Yet its network has expanded to about 500 members, including around 400 people currently behind bars.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>The group advocates for the health, safety and well-being of nearly 20,000 women and transgender people held in Texas prisons and jails.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Letters from inside became evidence<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>For years, Lioness received letters from incarcerated people describing what extreme heat felt like inside their units.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/>Some wrote because they were physically suffering. Others, according to Diane Thompson, Lioness\u2019 director of member relations, simply wanted someone outside the prison walls to know what they were experiencing.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/>\u201cThey needed somebody on the outside to hear them and to know what they were living through,\u201d Thompson wrote.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>Thompson kept detailed records of the correspondence, documenting the names and units of incarcerated members, the dates of their letters, the problems they reported and other relevant details.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>She also kept the original letters.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>The correspondence later became part of the legal record, with Pitman referring to the letters multiple times in his ruling.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/>\u201cWe are a membership-based organization. We include our incarcerated members in our decision-making. They lead our advocacy work,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cBecause of the structure of our organization, that is what got us to the finish line in this case.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Prison heat can worsen existing health problems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The consequences of extreme heat can be particularly serious for incarcerated people who already have medical conditions.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"61\"\/>Carlee Purdum, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Houston who studies the effects of disasters on incarcerated populations, said the psychological impact can be as significant as the physical one.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"63\"\/>\u201cThe most significant impact is just the helplessness and the dehumanization that a person feels,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"65\"\/>People participating in Purdum\u2019s surveys reported heat illness, fainting, seizures and rashes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"68\"\/>Wanda Bertram, a spokesperson for the Prison Policy Initiative, also noted that certain medications can increase vulnerability to prolonged heat exposure.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"70\"\/>People with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart conditions can face additional risks, she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"72\"\/>Women in particular can experience additional health challenges. Federal data show that a majority of incarcerated women have chronic medical conditions, while women are more likely than men to report serious psychological distress.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"75\"\/>Purdum\u2019s focus groups with women from Lioness also brought up pregnancy, menopause and the difficulties of managing those experiences in extreme heat.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"77\"\/>Extreme heat during pregnancy has been associated with higher risks of preeclampsia, premature birth and low birth weight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"79\"\/>Meanwhile, the number of older women in state and federal prisons has increased sharply. Women over 50 accounted for 18% of the prison population in 2023, compared with 8% in 2008.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Cooling down can depend on prison officials<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>For people currently incarcerated, the court-ordered changes will not happen overnight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"85\"\/>Purdum said people inside prisons have limited control over their own environment. If they run out of water, they may have to ask prison staff for more. Access to cooled areas can also require permission.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"87\"\/>\u201cPeople in the free world just do not understand what it means to not be able to take the simplest actions to stay comfortable, to stay alive,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"90\"\/>Texas is also not alone in facing questions about prison temperatures. A 2019 Prison Policy Initiative report found that at least 13 states did not require universal air conditioning in prisons, with many of those states in the South.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"92\"\/>\u201cA lot of places in the country have extreme heat, even more so now with global warming,\u201d Bertram said. \u201cThere aren\u2019t really states in the country where this isn\u2019t an issue.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"94\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>\u2018Lionesses stick together\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>For the women behind Lioness, however, the fight has never been only about air conditioning.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"98\"\/>It has been about people who remain inside and who, they say, have often felt forgotten.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"100\"\/>\u201cOur organization is named Lioness, and there\u2019s a reason for that. We move like the animal. Lionesses stick together; they stay together,\u201d Simmons said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"103\"\/>She said that collective determination helped the organisation take on what she described as one of the largest prison systems in the country.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"105\"\/>Purdum has seen that same solidarity among women inside Texas prisons.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"108\"\/>During focus groups, women described checking on elderly prisoners and those with medical conditions, sharing water and redirecting their own resources to help others endure extreme heat.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"110\"\/>\u201cThey were just these kinds of extraordinary examples of care,\u201d Purdum said. \u201cWe have a lot to learn from them.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"112\"\/>For her, that solidarity also explains why the legal victory carries significance beyond the courtroom.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"114\"\/>\u201cIt was always about the people that they still had on the inside, and they never stopped fighting for them,\u201d Purdum said. \u201cThat was extraordinary to just witness. I\u2019m just very proud to have had the opportunity to work with them.\u201d<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/texas-lionesses-win-major-prison-air-conditioning-fight-after-years-of-documenting-extreme-heat-court-orders-all-prisons-cooled-by-2029-with-88697-people-lacking-ac\/articleshow\/134573722.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 celebrate a major legal victory after years of fighting extreme heat in state prisons. (Photo: Getty Images) They call themselves \u201clionesses\u201d for a reason. The women behind the Lioness Justice Impacted Women\u2019s Alliance say their name reflects the determination, loyalty and collective strength that have driven their fight for safer conditions inside Texas [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Texas \u2018lionesses\u2019 celebrate a major legal victory after years of fighting extreme heat in state prisons. (Photo: Getty Images) They call themselves \u201clionesses\u201d for a reason. The women behind the Lioness Justice Impacted Women\u2019s Alliance say their name reflects the determination, loyalty and collective strength that have driven their fight for safer conditions inside Texas [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":6,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/texas-lionesses-celebrate-a-major-legal-victory-after-years-of-fighting-extreme-heat-in-state-prison-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}