Federal judge orders Texas to air-condition all prisons by end of 2029
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled that Texas's uncooled prisons violate the Eighth Amendment and set a Dec. 31, 2029 deadline for statewide air conditioning.
What to know
- Judge Pitman's order requires TDCJ to air condition all 104 prisons by Dec. 31, 2029, with the agency estimating a $1.5 billion cost.
- Only about a third of Texas prisons were fully air conditioned as of Sept. 1, despite prior warnings about heat-related deaths and injuries.
- The ruling exposes a gap between TDCJ's $289 million legislative funding request and what the court says the agency told it could be obtained, complicating the 2028-29 state budget cycle.
- The decision builds on a 2025 ruling in which Pitman found excessive prison heat likely unconstitutional but stopped short of mandating temporary cooling.
“unconstitutional punishment”
Robert Pitman, U.S. District Judge · The Texas Tribune ↗ · Dec 31
Robert Pitman U.S. District JudgeBobby Lumpkin Director, Texas Department of Criminal JusticeMarci Marie Simmons Plaintiff, previously incarcerated personTexas Department of Criminal Justice State prison agency and defendant
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Plaintiff Marci Marie Simmons calls ruling a 'huge win'
Marci Marie Simmons, a previously incarcerated plaintiff in the lawsuit, praised the decision, reacting with visible emotion.
“We're just so excited.”
— Marci Marie Simmons -
first by The New York Times, 1d ago · also Bloomberg Law News, The Texas Tribune, HuffPost, NY Post, Orlando Sentinel, Mercury News +1
6 more headlines
- Texas Must Add AC to All Prisons by End of 2029, Judge Orders Bloomberg Law News · 1d ago
- Judge Orders Texas to Air Condition All State Prisons by 2029 NewsMax.com · 1d ago
- Federal judge orders Texas to air condition all prisons by the end of 2029 The Texas Tribune · 1d ago
- Judge Orders Texas Prisons To Install Air Conditioning By 2029 HuffPost · 1d ago
- Judge orders all Texas prisons to have air conditioning by 2029 NY Post · 1d ago
- Judge orders Texas to have air conditioning at all prisons by end of 2029 Orlando Sentinel · 1d ago
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A federal judge has ordered Texas to air condition all of the state’s prisons by the end of 2029. Just over a third of Texas prisons are fully air conditioned.
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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ARE INMATES ENTITLED TO AC? They are according to a federal judge. Today he ordered Texas to install air conditioning systems in every state prison by 2029. He was responding to claims that no ac in the Texas heat amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Your Thoughts
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# CNN # News Judge orders Texas to have air conditioning at all prisons by end of 2029
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background
Judge Pitman orders full prison AC installation by Dec. 31, 2029 — Pitman's 150-page order requires TDCJ to immediately create and implement a plan to air condition every Texas prison, with installation completed no later than Dec. 31, 2029; the agency says compliance could cost $1.5 billion. Only about a third of the system's 104 facilities were fully air conditioned as of Sept. 1.
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background
TDCJ unveils budget request with $289M for prison AC — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly released its legislative appropriations request, asking for $289 million to install air conditioning and $591.8 million for climate-controlled expansion dorms, together creating more than 21,000 cool beds — an amount the judge later said fell short of what TDCJ told the court it could obtain.
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background
Pitman rules Texas prison heat likely unconstitutional — In an earlier ruling, Judge Robert Pitman found that excessive heat in Texas prisons is likely "unconstitutional punishment," but declined at the time to order temporary air conditioning, saying it was not a permanent fix.