As record-breaking summer heat scorches the United States, prisons across the country are facing mounting pressure to address dangerous indoor temperatures that threaten the health and lives of incarcerated individuals.
A Reuters investigation revealed that nearly half of U.S. prisons lack full air conditioning, with temperature logs showing indoor heat often soaring above 100°F, even in facilities equipped with partial cooling systems.
From 2020 to 2023, more than two-thirds of state and federal prisons had at least one summer day where outdoor temperatures exceeded 85°F. In several southern and western states, including Texas, Arizona, and California, some prisons endured over 65 days annually of extreme heat. In some cases, indoor readings climbed as high as 104°F, creating what inmates describe as “coffins with heat lamps.”
The lack of cooling infrastructure has prompted legal action and calls for urgent reform. In Texas, a federal judge recently ruled that the state’s failure to provide adequate cooling in prisons may violate constitutional protections, but stopped short of ordering immediate air conditioning installation. The Texas House passed House Bill 3006, proposing a phased AC installation across prisons by 2032, though the bill now faces opposition in the state Senate.
Florida is also under legal scrutiny. A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against the state’s Department of Corrections, citing heat-related health concerns, including dehydration and heat stroke. Similarly, inmates in Missouri’s Algoa Correctional Center have filed a class-action lawsuit, alleging cruel and unusual punishment as temperatures inside cells reached heat index levels of 120°F.
North Carolina is taking more proactive steps, pledging to install air conditioning in all state-run prisons by 2026. As of mid-2025, 21% of its prison beds remain without cooling, but retrofitting projects are already underway with nearly $93 million allocated for the effort.
In Illinois and Louisiana, public pressure is intensifying. Incarcerated individuals at Angola Prison in Louisiana and Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois describe unbearable conditions, minimal ventilation, and delayed medical care, all of which are exacerbated by extreme heat.
As climate change continues to drive higher temperatures across the country, advocates, legal experts, and public health officials warn that the crisis in American prisons will worsen unless decisive action is taken. Inmates, already among the most vulnerable populations, face disproportionate risks due to aging infrastructure, overcrowding, and bureaucratic delays in implementing life-saving measures like air conditioning.
The growing wave of lawsuits, legislative proposals, and media scrutiny underscores a broader reckoning with the nation’s prison conditions—where human rights and environmental justice are increasingly intersecting.