The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: Elderberry on March 13, 2019, 12:03:55 pm
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Houston Chronicle By Paul Cobler March 12, 2019
Prison reform advocates challenged lawmakers at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday to experience 3 minutes in a mock Texas prison cell to raise awareness about high temperatures at state lockups that don’t have air conditioning.
The "Beat the Heat" challenge, hosted by Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates, was held in support of Senate Bill 321 and House Bill 936, which would require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to maintain temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees within all Texas prison facilities.
The “cell,†made out of plywood and heated with lamps and a generator, hovered at a little over 90 degrees on Tuesday. Robert Lilly, who was formerly incarcerated at Texas’ Wallace Unit in Colorado City and now works for Texas Advocates for Justice, said the temperatures inside the mock cell were nowhere near what he faced in prison during the summer months.
“If you were to stand in here 23 hours a day, which some inmates do, you are not comfortable,†Lilly said from inside the cell as sweat beaded on his face. “It’s not humane and it certainly doesn’t lend itself to rehabilitation.â€
More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/100-degree-heat-in-mock-prison-cell-illustrates-13680305.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/100-degree-heat-in-mock-prison-cell-illustrates-13680305.php)
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How did the general population, let alone the prisoners, survive before air conditioning?
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90 degrees? That's not that hot. Especially if you don't have to do any work in it.
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Stupid idiots.
Those jailed are being punished, and this is part of that punishment.
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Stupid idiots.
Those jailed are being punished, and this is part of that punishment.
:amen: Far too much accommodation in Texas prisons already IMHO! Put me in charge of TDCJ for 5 years on a no-cut contract and I'll guarantee you the recidivism rate in Texas will be near zero by the end of my term.
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The “cell,†made out of plywood and heated with lamps and a generator, hovered at a little over 90 degrees on Tuesday. Robert Lilly, who was formerly incarcerated at Texas’ Wallace Unit in Colorado City and now works for Texas Advocates for Justice, said the temperatures inside the mock cell were nowhere near what he faced in prison during the summer months.
I would like to see the data proving that a thick-walled concrete prison can sustain that kind of temperature in the first place...
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I would like to see the data proving that a thick-walled concrete prison can sustain that kind of temperature in the first place...
No data to be had.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice does not measure temperatures inside state jails and prisons, making it impossible to obtain evidence of exactly how hot or cold it gets behind bars. Officials say it is difficult, and unnecessary, to get temperature readings inside.
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My Grandfather was the Warden at the prison in Louisville GA. I spent many summers there and I'd eat lunch at the prison with the guards. Sometimes I'd go thru the cells area to get to the guard's lunchroom. It was no way unbearable inside.
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My Grandfather was the Warden at the prison in Louisville GA. I spent many summers there and I'd eat lunch at the prison with the guards. Sometimes I'd go thru the cells area to get to the guard's lunchroom. It was no way unbearable inside.
Bear in mind too, that but a generation ago, there was no air conditioning at all.
Thick walled stone buildings are what was favored in desert regions because they remained cool. Even adobe works on that same principle.
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Bear in mind too, that but a generation ago, there was no air conditioning at all.
Thick walled stone buildings are what was favored in desert regions because they remained cool. Even adobe works on that same principle.
I've gone into adobe buildings in the heat of the day and it absolutely feels like there is a hidden airconditioner running.