Commentary: Texas prisons are struggling to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths among prisoners.
, “Temperatures at units can reach well above 110 degrees during the summer, and staff must endure this heat while wearing safety equipment, such as stab-proof vests.” Because of staffing shortages, Buchanan said, officers are “constantly conducting rounds with no break.” He told the committee that he had shifted to working at a federal prison solely because it was air-conditioned.
Another wrote, “The guard will refuse us if it’s too crowded. Our respite area only holds 20 people. We have 2,014 people who have to share it.” Clifton Buchanan, deputy director of AFSCME Texas Correction Employees Council 907 and a former Texas state prison corrections office, describes working during heat waves in prisons that aren’t air-conditioned, Aug. 4, 2022.Prison agencies often assert that their heat mitigation policies are adequate for keeping incarcerated people safe.
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