×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Heat Death Reveals Continuing Danger
by Matt Clarke
After the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) settled a lawsuit over excessive heat filed by prisoners at the Wallace Pack Unit, by agreeing to air condition the facility and move heat-sensitive prisoners to cooler cells, many thought the issue of heat-related deaths in Texas …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- DNA: To Collect or Not to Collect?, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Heat Death Reveals Continuing Danger, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania DOC’s New Mail Policy Robs Prisoners of the Personal Touch; Lawsuits Over Legal Mail Settle, by David M. Reutter
- Right to Speedy Trial Not Triggered by Placement in Administrative Segregation, by David M. Reutter
- Court Grants Compassionate Release After BOP Says Prisoner Wasn’t Dying Fast Enough, by Dale Chappell
- GEO Group Cancels Contract to Run New Mexico Private Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Female Attorneys Denied Access to Clients at Missouri Jail Due to Bras, by Edward Lyon
- Colorado DOC Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Treat Thousands of Prisoners with HCV, by Dale Chappell
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Over SMU Conditions at Georgia Prison, by David M. Reutter
- First Step Act Update: Over 1,600 Sentences Reduced, 3,000 Prisoners Released, by Dale Chappell, Douglas Ankney
- Sleeping Guard Who Allowed Suicidal Prisoner to Hang Himself Prompts $507,500 Settlement, by Dale Chappell
- Virginia Jail Not Responding to Problems Cited in Department of Justice Report, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi County Pays $27,500 to Settle Lawsuit by Prisoner “Jumped” by Other Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- New York City May Expand Investment Bar to Prison Service Providers, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Missouri Sheriff Gets Prison Time for Illegal Cell Phone Tracking, by David M. Reutter
- Wisconsin Prisoner Sues After Injury; Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal, by Scott Grammer
- Oregon Faces State and Federal Contempt Proceedings Over Delayed Competency Services for Mentally Ill Defendants – Again, by Mark Wilson
- Dr. Arthur Zitrin, Anti-Death Penalty Advocate and Bioethicist, Dies at 101, by Scott Grammer
- Court Certifies Class of Former Washington State Prisoners Challenging Debit Release Cards in HRDC Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Jail Administrator, Guard Receive 55-Hour Sentence for Prisoner’s Death, by Scott Grammer
- Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs, by David M. Reutter
- DOJ Probe Finds Alabama Men’s Prisons Overcrowded, Plagued by Ongoing Violence, by David M. Reutter
- No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida DOC Attorney Resigns After Posting Racially-Charged Comments, by David M. Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana’s Sex Offender Treatment Program Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Rider Programs in Idaho Offer Prisoners a Second Chance, by Jayson Hawkins
- Permanent Injunction for Hepatitis C Treatment Entered for Florida Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Audit Determines Georgia’s State Prisons More Cost Effective than Private Prisons, by David M. Reutter
- Jackson, Mississippi Pays $300,000 to Settle Jail Wrongful Death Suit, by Dale Chappell
- Prisoner’s Activism Leads Colorado DOC to Reverse Ban on Greeting Cards, Postcards and Drawings, by Matthew Clarke
- Stormy Daniels’ Former Attorney Accused of Ripping Off Prisoner, Other Clients, by Edward Lyon
- Illinois Jail Guard Secretly Prosecuted for Assaulting Prisoner, by Scott Grammer
- Over $488,000 Awarded to Former Michigan Prison Warden in Retaliation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules, by Bill Barton
- Plans for a New Federal Prison on Coal Mine Site in Kentucky Withdrawn, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Pennsylvania Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man in Holding Cell, is “Excused” by DA, by Scott Grammer
- Former Prisoner Named Secretary of Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, by Matthew Clarke
- “Feeling Cute” Social Media Challenge Reveals Brutality of Prison Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Files FOIL Petition Against New York State Attorney General’s Office
- Michigan: $9,750 in Damages and Costs in Prison Ramadan Violation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- GEO Group Under Pressure from Shareholders on Human Rights Policy, by David M. Reutter, Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Prison Scandal: Cell Doors that Don’t Lock, Maintenance Funds Misused, by Matthew Clarke
- Maine: Female Detainee Raped by Jailer Wins Lawsuit, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Passes Laws to Preserve Dignity of Women Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Jails in Oregon and Washington State Have High Prisoner Death Rates, by Matthew Clarke, Mark Wilson
- Book Excerpt: Lessons of “The Birdman”, by Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis
- Federal Court Dismisses GEO Group’s Defenses in Lawsuit Over Pay for Immigrant Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- When Going to Jail Means Giving Up the Meds that Saved Your Life, by Beth Schwartzapfel
- Opioid Epidemic Impacts Prisons and Jails, by Steve Horn
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
- Missouri Prisons Called Out for Incomplete Death Records, Hellish Solitary Heat, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Exposure to Heat, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Exposure to Heat, Guards/Staff, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Detention - Generally.
- California Funds $38 Million Pilot Program to Investigate Methods for Cooling Three Prisons, Jan. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Deliberate Indifference.
- Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters, Dec. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Shelter, Exposure to Heat, Hurricane Katrina, Immigration Detention.
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025. Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- California’s Attorney General Is Suing Los Angeles County Jails Over “Inhumane Conditions”, Nov. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Exposure to Cold, Plumbing, Sewage, Sanitation, Hygiene Supplies, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Complaints, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Watchdog Calls Out D.C. for Dragging Feet on Construction of New Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Jail Specific, Lighting, Noise, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Security Systems.

