"The plaintiffs are asking for the entire Texas prison system to be air-conditioned by the end of 2029 in a trial that is expected to last two weeks."

"There were allegedly five heat-related deaths over the last two summers in Texas prisons, the plaintiff’s attorneys presented on the first day of the federal trial over insufficient air conditioning in these facilities.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not publicly acknowledged heat as a significant factor in these deaths, and the state’s attorneys also pushed back against these claims during the Monday proceeding.

The hearing in Austin followed a March 2025 ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman that said housing Texas prison inmates in sweltering facilities that lack air conditioning is “plainly unconstitutional.” The Obama appointee declined at the time to force TDCJ to immediately install temporary or permanent air conditioning, which the agency said could cost more than $1 billion. The judge instead pushed the plaintiffs — who are asking for the entire prison system to be air-conditioned by the end of 2029, along with measurable milestones during that period — toward a trial."

Alex Nguyen reports for the Texas Tribune March 30, 2026. [2]