Commit a federal crime, not a state crime … inhumane
Okay, so things haven’t worked out well for you in this lifetime. Your old man was a mean drunk with a second family, your mom was a crack head who also liked to drink, and you grew up being made fun of because of the clothes you wore, despite the fact that holes in jeans had become fashionable.
So, you have decided to embark on a life of crime. Get back at society. Besides, the dregs of life accept you even if most of the world does not.
That said, the smart thing to do is commit a crime at the federal level. Steer clear of state crimes.
The criminals on the fed side are treated like first-class citizens, for the most part, Supermax notwithstanding.
The prisoners at the Texas state level, however, both men and women, the vast majority of them don’t have air conditioning.
“But if the heat index outside is 115, how hot is it inside these prisons?
According to a story published by the Texas Tribune (texastribune. org) last August, “The heat has killed prisoners and cost millions of taxpayer dollars in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits, with a recent fatal heat stroke reported in 2018. In 2011 — a blisteringly hot summer that the state climatologist has compared to the current one — at least 10 Texas prisoners died of heat stroke, according to court reports. The death count is likely higher since scientists have found extreme heat is often overlooked as a cause of death.” Meanwhile, federal prisoners enjoy the comfort of AC year round if needed.
Some people call the state’s treatment of prisoners during the summer months cruel and unusual punishment, while those who consider themselves “Law-and- Order” types say, “Why are you so concerned about a bunch of prisoners? They’re getting what they deserve. Prison ain’t s’posed to be no damn country club.”
The “There but for the grace of God” bit goes right out the window.
Prison advocates like to say that if the straight-backed, law-and- order politician had been born into a dysfunctional environment – mean, drunk dad and a mom strung out on crack, living on the street – how would they have turned out?
Repeat: If you’re going to become a criminal, choose a federal crime. Better living conditions, better class of people, access to great mental health resources, etc.
Also, in Texas, age has no bearing on the matter. If you’re 70, suffering from Diabetes, don’t believe you’re going to get treated differently.
Again, from the Texas Tribune story published last August: “After a flood of lawsuits throughout the last decade, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has made some changes to lessen the suffering from its stifling temperatures. Most notably, it settled a yearslong court battle by agreeing to cool a geriatric prison, the Wallace Pack Unit southeast of College Station. The new air conditioning cost the state about $4 million. The legal fight over installing it cost more than $7 million.”
Even the prison geriatric prison couldn’t catch a break until lawsuits forced a move?
Nope.
While in the process, dumping more than $7 million into the pockets of connected lawyers.
The Heat
When the heat index reaches 115, even 105, the prisoners on the fed side are enjoying cool and comfortable cells since the American Correctional Association, which oversees federal prisons, has standards that require livable temps inside the prisons that are not too hot or cold.
In Texas, state prison is not where you want to be. The governor isn’t a friend to convicted felons, and neither is the lieutenant governor. Neither is the Texas Senate for that matter.
At the start of this legislative session, the state had a budget surplus, giving prisoner advocates hopes that the state would pony up the half-a-billion or so to place AC inside all state prison units. The hope fell flat.
Texas, by the way, is one of at least 13 states without universal air conditioning in state prisons, according to new research (done by Texas A&M). Temperatures inside units have regularly reached 110 degrees, conditions incarcerated people call a “living hell,” according to the study. (Source: star-telegram. com.)
No doubt. Has your AC ever gone out during summer? How long can you stay inside the house without feeling like you’re frying? You’ll get in your car and just drive around with the AC on to stay cool. Excessive heat will fry your brains and shorten your temper.
Even with a window open, and not every Texas prison unit has windows (with bars), the only thing blowing in is hot air.
The state House has passed some bills that would install AC inside all state prisons, but it never gains any traction in the state Senate.
Reached by phone this week to discuss the Senate stall, Sen. “Chuy” Hinojosa said he was aware of the House effort, but needed to get some more concrete facts in hand before making any comment with regard to the Texas Senate.
Here are a few other observations and/or facts as laid out in the star-telegram.com story dated April 11, 2023, written by Dalia Faheid. The paper’s headline was somewhat optimistic, albeit erroneously, two months ago – maybe this would be the year the Senate would vote to putAC in Texas’sweltering prisons, both men’s and women’s.
Dream on, or in this case, swelter on.
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram story from this past April, its lead, spelled out the current predicament: “The Texas House is proposing to spend $545 million to install air conditioning units in many of the state’s lethally hot prisons. This is good news for prison advocates who have fought for years to improve conditions inside Texas prisons. But their optimism is tempered by a lack of reciprocity so far from the state Senate, even as the Texas legislature has nearly $32.7 billion to work with.”
Thirty-two billion dollars to work with, and the Senate still couldn’t find $545 million to quit the inhumane practice inside state prisons – no AC when the heat index is 115.
“That there ain’t no inhumane treatment, boy. You getting’soft? That’s called making sure the prisoners don’t enjoy their time here because we don’t wanna see ‘em back behind bars.”
Sure, forget the Pollyannish notion that it would be nice to place AC in state prisons just because it might be, you know, the decent thing to do, the humane thing to do. Even most animal shelters have AC.
Instead of looking at what is humane vs. inhumane, consider the dollar tag – between half-a-billion and a billion — and ask yourself it this expense won’t save taxpayer money in the long run.
It costs money to take care of prisoners. We all know that. Lots and lots of money. How much Hidalgo County is currently spending to care for prisoners, not sure. Need to submit a public information request, but it’s a lot, especially when you move up a notch to include state prisons.
If a guy, or a woman for that matter, has to spend multiple summers inside a hell-hot state prison, are they most likely to be chill or really ticked off when they are finally paroled? Will their view of society be more positive or more negative?
If they had anger-management issues before, substance-abuse problems, will the time spent behind bars in Texas’ sweltering summer heat make them more likely to return to their old criminal ways or turn a leaf?
If they hated “society” before, will they love us or hate us more after they are paroled? Will they feel as if “society” did what was right by them, or simply tossed them aside?
In that star-telegram.com story, one prison advocate spoke about how hot last summer was, 2022. Compared to this summer, between the two, so far it looks like this summer will be far more brutal, and the start of summer, believe it or not, only officially began Wednesday, June 21.
You want more good news? These increased temps may become the norm, which is the consensus of the U.S. scientific community.
“Overall, 2023 is likely to fall under the top 10 warmest years on record, perhaps even the top five, Karin Gleason, monitoring section chief for the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, told reporters during a call on Thursday. (Source: abcnews.go.com.)
It’s hard for some not to agree with prison advocates who say, “Sure, they committed a crime, which is why they’re in the state pen, but what gives the state the right to treat them worse than you would a dog?"
The Prisoner
In the Aug. 24, 2022, Texas Tribune story, which carried the headline – “It’s a living hell: Scorching heat in Texas prisons revives air-conditioning debate” – one prisoner describes his situation. An interesting read today while the outside index is forecast to again hit 115 this week across multiple days: “David Segovia lay on the floor of his Texas prison cell and wondered if this was how he was going to die.
“The state was experiencing its hottest July in recorded history, and he, like most Texas prisoners, was locked inside a concrete and steel building without air conditioning. It had been months since he last felt cool air on his skin. A heat rash snaked up his arms.
“Living on the highest tier of a cellblock in East Texas’ Ferguson Unit, he couldn’t lie in his metal bed — it was hot to the touch. Instead, he wet the floor or his sheets with the hot water that came out of his sink and spread out on the concrete. He still couldn’t sleep.”
Sure, prisoners, many of them, say the law-and-order types, including many of the politicians in the state Senate, are responsible for their own fate and have no right to demand anything from the taxpayers.
Not even a livable climate?
Not in Texas, home in part to the Bible Belt, with its rich religious history.
According to a July 1, 2023, story published in The New Republic (newrepublic.com), part of the problem is the way in which the state classifies death and its cause. In that story, the writer makes note of his contact with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where he was told that the state has not had a heat-related death since 2012. People die, sure, and some people may claim it was heat-related, but that's not how the state sees it. According to the story, inmates die, their deaths are recorded, but no mention of the temp. They may die from the heat, but when they breathe their last, they've already been taken to the prison hospital, which is air-conditioned. Meaning, if anyone asks, the prisoner died in an air-conditioned environment.
Slick.
According to the July 2023 newrepublic.com story, When I reached out to ask TDCJ about the deaths of these people, communications director Amanda Hernandez said that Texas prisons have had no heat deaths since 2012. Shlegel died in air conditioning and had preexisting medical conditions, Hernandez told me in an email, and the Office of the Inspector General is investigating her death. TDCJ said it is waiting for the results of McCullough’s autopsy; Hernandez said that the agency “take[s] numerous precautions to lessen the effects of hot temperatures for those incarcerated within our facilities.”
Last Friday, a 37-year-old woman was found dead inside the Murray Unit in Gatesville. The cause of death is under investigation. The prisoner is one of at least three people in their 30s to die suddently (unexpectedly?) at a Texas prison without full AC. (Source: KXAN.com.)
At least 32 inmates (both male and female) have died in Texas state prisons (overseen by the TDCJ) during the month of June.
It's like the state says, though: these deaths are not heat-related. So what if it's 110 degrees in some of these prison blocks. Cooler weather is just up ahead in another three months.