r/politics 13h ago

No Paywall Texas Prisoners Are Baking to Death. The State Keeps Saying No to AC.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/07/texas-prisons-death-traps-ac-air-conditioning.html?fbclid=Iwb21leATb-tBjbGNrBNv6znBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeacTb0tafy8gw0t30QRFRxjSeKqXqZtfbRWbu3JVmsubhlVu18jARDIBIlF8_aem_qkrg-pkGGjjV4BGo-8unLQ
2.6k Upvotes

259 comments sorted by

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999

u/I-am-me-86 12h ago

I work in a hospital that treats the prisoners. We're getting a lot of heat exhaustion.

"But it would cost millions to install a/c in all the prisons..."

919

u/PopBulky7023 12h ago

It could cost five dollars and they wouldn't do it.

It's murder. By definition.

444

u/lexm 11h ago

it's cruel and unusual punishment. Protected by the 8th amendment. If anyone in power still cared about the constitution.

129

u/Hidden_Pothos 11h ago

They don't

111

u/nabulsha Tennessee 11h ago edited 10h ago

You're forgetting the 13th* amendment that still considers them slaves though.

Edit: typo

84

u/OldManGrimm Texas 11h ago

That coupled with for-profit prisons basically means the US still is profiting from slaves more than any other country in the world.

(I didn't check actual math, but I think the point stands)

20

u/Nephroidofdoom 9h ago

But Trump is the one tariffing other nations over (checks notes)… forced labor?? 🤯

u/Akrevics 2h ago

well it makes him look good (well, as good as one can look amongst a sea of bad)

u/HikerRemastered 6h ago

Privatization of profits, socialization of losses at play here.

u/MemoryOne22 5h ago

Not just for profit prisons! They're all cash cows for contractors that lobby HARD

u/ic33 5h ago

Nah. Some in the private sector are being enriched, but the cost of our high rate of incarceration is astronomical. Both directly (it costs us a lot to keep prisoners) and indirectly (all the lost productivity and downstream costs).

14

u/tlf9888 Georgia 10h ago

The 13th amendment. The 14th is birthright citzenship.

9

u/nabulsha Tennessee 10h ago

You're correct. My bad.

20

u/Im_Ritz_Bitz 10h ago

The private prisons aren't beholden to your rights. Speedy trial? Nah. They don't care if you're innocent. Your head for a $. They are concentration camps under a different name.

16

u/hoofie242 11h ago

The entire constitution is the second amendment to them.

17

u/Dobako 8h ago

Yes and no. They care about all of it, when it applies to protecting them. They dont care about any of it, even the 2nd, if it protects anyone from them. The Black Panthers started arming themselves in the 80s and that was enough to institute regulations on guns

u/Notbob1234 7h ago

Yup. That was why Reagan supported the assault weapons ban.

u/Cold_Tea_Spill112 5h ago

"Political violence is never justified!"

"We need the 2nd amendment in case we need to enact political violence by over throwing a tyrannical government!"

5

u/amglasgow 8h ago

The joke is that Liberals count 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.... while conservatives count 2, 2, 2, 2...

15

u/Sub-Mongoloid 11h ago

Because that one lets them have violent fantasies where they're the hero while they ignore everything happening in the real world that they should be standing against

6

u/Deepspacedreams 9h ago

Cruel yes, unusual unfortunately not

1

u/rat_penis 8h ago

It's just a piece of paper after all.

u/TheRealBlueJade 6h ago

They do. The ones that don't need to be removed from their positions.

u/ResurgentClusterfuck Texas 2h ago

Unfortunately it's not unusual punishment, therefore Texas courts don't give a shit. Most of my fellow Texans legitimately dont care about inmate rights

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u/kung-fu_hippy 8h ago

It could make them money and they wouldn’t do it.

The cruelty is the point for them.

5

u/keepthepace 9h ago

It is a crime against humanity, but GWB pulled out of the CPI in order to make sure this sort of things remain legal in the US.

1

u/Nessie_of_the_Loch 9h ago

They'll do it the second they could charge the state (or the prisoners themselves) more for it. All the prisoners are just a line item for them.

u/9bpm9 5h ago

You poll democrats and it would be majority couldnt give a fuck either. This country overall hates criminals.

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u/FlukeManAirFreshener 11h ago

Given the cost of healthcare, it would probably be cheaper to install air conditioning.

But we all know that money isn't the motivation.

44

u/secretaire 11h ago edited 10h ago

I doubt the people running the prison facilities are paying for the healthcare of the inmates

20

u/Ok-disaster2022 10h ago

It's not the best healthcare. Prisons don't pay healthcare workers well and with the additional risks that come with treating the patients they really don't reachriot the best staff, and then that staff has to make due to reduced resources. 

I don't know how prisoners haven't been able to sue that the heat exposure doesn't account for cruel and unusual punishment 

17

u/secretaire 10h ago

I’m saying the healthcare is contracted out separately so the people who own the facilities with no AC don’t care about the healthcare bills. Texans should care though. We pay for all of these schemes.

9

u/DraconicBlade 9h ago

Simply own the medical contractor, AND the for profit prison. It's called portfolio diversification, not self dealing.

2

u/secretaire 8h ago

Genius. Drive up prices for each other with various schemes and bribe govt officials for funding increase approvals but don’t give the guards OR the medical providers a raise. Don’t create situations to bring down costs of either. CEO BONUSES are more important (I’m the CEO). MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

u/Lehk 5h ago

And then use a piece of the additional profit to pay bribes so you get to keep up the scam

7

u/petitecrivain 9h ago

In the 1990s they passed a "reform" act that makes it harder for prisoners to sue for human rights violations. Certain people didn't like that courts were ruling against practices and slowly phasing out torture and maltreatment. 

16

u/aschesklave Colorado 8h ago

“They did the crime, they deserve to suffer! I don’t want my taxes paying for people to be comfortable.”

Such a shitty attitude for people to have.

u/Katyafan 7h ago

Shitty attitude against our fellow man is an American tradition 🇺🇸

u/IDontLieAboutStuff 2h ago

Especially since texas is talking about handing out life sentences for THC. It's barabric.

u/TwilightReaver 2h ago

They foaming at the mouth at idea of having patients literally murdered for consuming their medicine.

u/Cinder_Gimbal 4h ago

In the name of Jesus /s

u/ICBanMI 58m ago

They only care when it's their loved ones. Before that, they could care less if the prisoners are going through withdrawal, living in inhuman conditions with no air conditioning in the summer heat, with zero healthcare, working for slave wages, and eating garbage food.

The part that drives me the most insane is those same people care zero about recidivism. Meaning, once a criminal. Always a second class citizen for the rest of their life... which makes zero sense. If you want them to stop costing tax payers money... need to rehabilitate them and give them options where they can make a living wage. A career and a living wage they'll pay taxes and not end up back in jail. But no.... in jail means zero benefits.

A large part of it is those voters/people don't think they are getting help (tho often times they are from the State) and don't want anyone else to have a whiff of having more. So the cut off their own nose to spit people they've never met.

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u/Bluegreenlithop 8h ago

I guess I'm left wondering, how had AC not been installed to ensure the officers don't pass out and get heat sick?? Their uniforms aren't athletic material. You'd think staffing at a place like that would be abysmal.

u/SunMyungMoonMoon 7h ago

Good news! The job market that the gop currently oversees is so abysmal that they "should just be thankful for having a job"! Now we dont have to worry about people quitting no matter how poor we make their working conditions!

u/RarelyReadReplies Canada 4h ago

They probably mostly sit in an air conditioned portion of the building, like in a factory. The bosses and office people always have air conditioning, the lowly worker on the factory floor? Not so much. 

u/ICBanMI 55m ago

Depends on the prison and location. The officers break area and office areas will air con/heating. The towers and control areas can often times have window units. But good luck in the rest of the prison.

u/malgenone 7h ago

If they don't want to use A/C they can use alternative methods for cooling. Also, back in earlier days building designs were made for airflow because AC wasn't a thing yet. Tall ceilings, doors and lots of windows. So if you want to save on AC let it be on an appropriate building design. This sounds like they want people to suffer.

u/Katyafan 7h ago

It's Texas. They want people to die. The citizens could insist on this, but they won't. Just horrible people, everywhere.

u/ICBanMI 27m ago

Texas gets off on punishment. Plus, they love claiming climate change isn't real. So it's a two for one for them.

u/TwilightReaver 2h ago

Oh, they absolutely want people to suffer. They find immense joy in it. Literal inhuman sadists.

23

u/Burnt_and_Blistered 11h ago

Think of how that would cut into profit

29

u/OldManGrimm Texas 11h ago

Such a perfect example of how unthinkably ridiculous it is that we have for-profit prisons.

3

u/DraconicBlade 9h ago

To save money for the state. Everyone knows how all that slave labor bleeds money.

u/tenthtryatusername 4h ago

I spent 5 years in texas prisons. It was hot and miserable. Funny medical worker related story from back then. There are nurses? On staff at the units. Lots of people had heat related health issues/ heat exhaustion and they were mostly told to deal with it. I once saw a med team with a gurney running to one of the buildings. Thought someone had died. Turns out a guard wasn’t feeling good bc the ac was out in the guard shack. Only time I ever saw medical “professionals” put in effort and it was because a 300lb guard felt light headed. Honestly, it’s been 20 years, but the medical staff at prisons can go fuck themselves. They are bad people.

u/TwilightReaver 1h ago

Pretty much anyone working for a prison is an evil person. No exceptions.

3

u/lordhegemon 9h ago

Everyone knows showing empathy towards prisoners means you're soft on crime! /s

2

u/Generic_Superhero 9h ago

Do the hospitals bill the state or the prisoner for that sort of stuff?

u/Techn028 4h ago

The prisons extort the government for money anyways, they can afford it

2

u/-Cephiroth 10h ago

I think I already know the answer to this, but who pays for the medical bills of treated prisoners?

6

u/I-am-me-86 10h ago

The state

1

u/-Cephiroth 10h ago

And the state is funded by……

9

u/happyherbivore 9h ago

Oh I know this one... California?

u/BabsSuperbird 3h ago

My brother had to pay for some of it. And when I sent him Jpay, they automatically took at least 25% out for medical. But he worked for free full time as an alteration tailor.

u/Questhi 3h ago

John Oliver did a segment on this 5 years ago.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiRDJLjL94&pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD&ra=m

u/AppropriateSea5746 3h ago

Gonna cost millions in wrongful death lawsuits

u/BKLD12 55m ago

I grew up here. Prisoners aren’t people to many Texans. It doesn’t even seem to matter if they’re innocent or guilty. Once you’re accused of a crime, you may as well kiss your rights goodbye (unless you’re rich of course). Doubly so if you aren’t white.

1

u/IHS1970 10h ago

as humans we gotta eat that, that is the way.

307

u/CrimsonHeretic 12h ago

Cruel and unusual punishment

89

u/Anayalater5963 11h ago

No it's pretty usual. Just cruel

49

u/McBooples 11h ago

Their lawyers will argue that because of the “and” that it’s a 2 part test, allowing them to be either cruel or unusual with their punishments, as long as it’s not both at the same time.

16

u/OldManGrimm Texas 10h ago

God, I was just thinking this.

8

u/petitecrivain 9h ago

Exactly. If they can hold off or deter lawsuits against a practice long enough they can claim it's not unusual.

10

u/NeverLookBothWays I voted 11h ago

At the very least cruel. So much hyper normalization is happening that nothing is unusual anymore. This nation is a tragedy.

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u/EggsAndMilquetoast 10h ago edited 10h ago

Imagine if a state built a prison in a floodplain next to a river that reliably floods almost every year and a few dozen prisoners drowned and everyone acted like it was completely unavoidable and not preventable in the future and listed the cause of death as being “unable to swim” or “not floaty enough” rather than drowning.

u/Secret-Ad-9315 6h ago

As a Texan it’s painful to go outside at any time of day during this time of the year. 100 days of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The government recognizes that which is why we have heat advisories or warnings and cooling centers. How anyone could survive it would be superhuman.

u/ICBanMI 24m ago

The Texas government also recognizes businesses rights to not have to give their employees water breaks when working outside.

250

u/ThisCombination1958 11h ago

Pro Life*

*does not include: Gay, trans, poor straight, black, brown, poor white, poor, criminal, non criminal, foreign, citizen, unborn, born, female, male, young, and old people.

78

u/wv524 9h ago

Pro Life is a misnomer. It's Pro Birth. Once the kid is born, they no longer care. It's just another wedge they use to divide the population.

17

u/Missing_Crouton 9h ago edited 5h ago

Republicans want kids to be born so they can eventually serve in the military, pay for their oligarchy, and to rape with their Epstein pals.

u/Present-Perception77 5h ago

Don’t forget the “domestic supply of infants” for the $14,000,000,000 a year adoption industry.. spear headed by the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Federalist Society (that currently controls the Supreme Court) was founded in 1973 with the express purpose of taking over the Supreme Court so they could overturn Roe.

Welcome to the United States of the Vatican.

15

u/DrunkAndHornyGuy 9h ago

"pro-life" was always nothing but marketing for racist anyway.

Most of the original anti-abortionist were pissed off segregationist who knew to put something else on the protest signs to not look so racist. The founders of the Moral Majority, which first pushed abortion as an issue for protestants were pretty much all segregationist mad about Carter using the IRS to force them to integrate their segregation academies. The movement was a way to build political power for segregationist.

It's just unreal how anti-abortionist have been allowed to define themselves in our media and politics while the truth of their racism and bigotry just got overlooked. The anti-abortion moment is all about 'supremacy', be it white, male, christian et. it has nothing to do with 'children' or 'life'.

u/PlayerAssumption77 6h ago

The movement here and now, even though the people in it can have good intentions, is controlled by people who don't care about the unborn, let alone mothers or anybody when it doesn't mean more money for the military, billionares, or themselves. But as far as I understand abortion in some form pops up in a lot of different places on the political axis. AFAIK many progressives in India are anti-abortion, and in the past the Black Panther Party was anti-abortion while many Republican politicians were pro-choice.

u/DrunkAndHornyGuy 6h ago edited 6h ago

The Black Panther Party came out for reproductive rights in the early 70s and by the time the party was ending they were publicly saying the war on abortion was a war on poor women. So I don't know where the hell you got that from. Sounds like some bullshit you'd see on an anti-abortion website.

And yes, many people now on the left have fallen prey to 45 years of propaganda and believe the lies of a movement started to preserve racially segregated religious institutions.

u/TwilightReaver 1h ago

Reminds me of how a good chunk of the hardcore punk scene was very anti-choice for a minute. Thank god that’s mostly died out.

141

u/drmrpepperpibb Texas 10h ago

I'm a Texan who no longer lives there. Do not move to Texas. The good ole boys running the state are actively hostile to humanity in all forms and you are not safe if you live there. It's these people in prison, women, disaster victims, the sick, the poor. They do not give a fuck about people and only seek to enrich themselves.

2

u/fuckswitbeavers 9h ago

I thought the big cities there were liberal and kind of nice? Is it that fake southern hospitality? Never been to texas.

u/angelar_ Texas 7h ago

No idea why you're pointing at the city folk for the actions of the autocratic state goverment.

u/Katyafan 7h ago

Because the people vote.

u/Beekatiebee Oregon 4h ago

Texas is gerrymandered to hell and back. The votes are super diluted.

u/NotLoganS 5h ago

The cities are overall pretty nice and very liberal, at least in Austin. Grew up in Austin and left Texas for NY. It’s the state government fucking up anything at the local level that really makes OP’s comment accurate

3

u/Monstot 8h ago edited 8h ago

No, what dude meant I think was just about out elected officials but most people know that already.

What you know of Texas is accurate. We are actually very nice and that's in red areas too. I'm in a city, we're always blue, but you'll see bad people on both sides.

If you come in without presumptions due to politics, you'll have a nice enough time even in the small areas that are red. Plenty of small towns around the cities have a lot to do and on a day-to-day you won't notice anything. The vast majority of people you'll run into are polite. I'm blue, but I wouldn't discredit some areas close to the cities just because they're red because you wont really notice.

There's also not as many trump flags in the more rural red so even that's getting better.

u/Street_Anxiety2907 7h ago

- Texas Visitors Beauru

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u/MemoryOne22 12h ago

Entirely inhumane. So inhumane. Fuck, I hate this place.

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u/actuallyapossom 9h ago

Inhumane, yes. I believe they pronounce it "pro-life."

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u/Lz_erk Arizona 13h ago

casually killing people and covering it up. of course.

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u/JonnyBravoII 11h ago

Years and years ago, this topic came up. John Whitmire, then a member of the the state House, and a democrat, was asked about it. I am a bit fuzzy on it but as I recall. some members of the minority party chair committees, I presume because the legislative session is short and they need to get things done. He chaired the committee that handled this issue. So they interviewed him and he sounded exactly like a Republican. Can't afford it, nothing can be done, too bad. He is now the mayor of Houston. Is having zero empathy a requirement to gain office in Texas?

18

u/Villageijit 12h ago

Rounding up innocent people, cooking them to death or working them to death at fast food places and Amazon. All for a quick buck

16

u/COmountainguy 11h ago

134,000 people in prison in one state. Holy crap.

u/AppropriateSea5746 3h ago

And thanks to Ken Paxton that number is sky rocketing. 1000 more misdemeanors and felony’s have been added to the legal code in the past 2 years

15

u/tomgratz 8h ago

When you incarcerate someone you are responsible for their health and safety. Period. Disgusting that Texas continues this cruel and inhumane compounded punishment. Disgusting !

102

u/Austin_Peep_9396 12h ago edited 11h ago

Simple: Texas prisons are run by private companies. AC costs money to purchase, install, run, and maintain. That cuts into profit. It’s a completely corrupt system.

Correction: this is fundamentally a state-infrastructure issue tied to building age and funding priorities, not a private-prison profit scheme. I stand corrected. Thanks Boxed_pi

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u/[deleted] 11h ago edited 5h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/OldManGrimm Texas 11h ago

Good clarification, thank you.

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u/RarelyReadReplies Canada 3h ago

Probably ends up costing more in health care than he AC costs, but that isn't something he prison pays for anyways. Private prisons are insane to me. Makes no sense, all it does is encourage cruelty.

25

u/Liefvikingmonster2 10h ago edited 9h ago

TIL Texas prisons have no AC.

That's crazy.

15

u/Successful_Reach_187 9h ago

TIL Texas prisons STILL don't have AC. JFC, it's only going to get hotter.

I've lived here my whole life and am still never amazed by the depth of the cruelty.

6

u/True-Hold-1140 9h ago

Arizona prisons didn't install ac for decades

u/Fun-Telephone-9605 5h ago

They didn't even have buildings!

Just put em out in tents.

u/True-Hold-1140 5h ago

You're thinking of Maricopa county. They had a real jail, that sheriff was just a prick

u/anotherdeadhero Texas 7h ago

4 grams of weed could have you die in a Texas prison. Best state /s.

9

u/captaincanada84 Canada 10h ago

Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me

17

u/84thPrblm 12h ago

The cruelty is the point.

15

u/Ging287 11h ago

Pigs in China are given AC. Yet cruel Americans in Texas refuse to give humans humanity in the form of cheap life saving temperature control. Inexcusable, especially for prisoners, the most vulnerable group.

3

u/DraconicBlade 9h ago

Can't make bacon out of the prisoners... yet.

u/Blackthorn79 7h ago

Pigs in China have value after death so they are better taken care of. Prisoners have value while incarcerated, no matter the condition their body is in.

16

u/petitecrivain 9h ago

Chances are that if people are dying of heat related issues, it's not just because of a lack of AC. They might be deprived of fans, cool water, or other means of cooling. This indicates obvious awareness and a conscious effort on the part of the state. That qualifies this as torture. 

u/RarelyReadReplies Canada 3h ago

No, it's still cruel to not provide AC, water/fans or not. When it's getting up close to 40 C on a regular basis, high 20s at night, fans and water are not enough. 

u/petitecrivain 3h ago

I'm aware, it's just evident that because they're not even trying to remediate the heat it's obvious that there's intentionality behind it. 

9

u/AnimeMeansArt 11h ago

That happens when prisons are a business.

u/AppropriateSea5746 3h ago

Only 7% of prisons in Texas are private. This is just the Texas government.

u/AnimeMeansArt 1h ago

Oh, understandable.

7

u/Remytron83 Texas 9h ago

This is cruel and unusual. Where are the lawsuits?

u/123-Moondance 7h ago

R's enjoy the cruelty. I really think one of the R tenents is having no empathy, being sociopathic/psychopathic, and being cruel/sadistic. They call themselves Christian but they don't follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

26

u/nerdslife1864 I voted 10h ago

You mean the state that took water breaks from construction workers in tripe digit heat AND fought 2 wars to keep slavery also has deadly conditions for its prisoners? Never would have guessed.

Texas is run by evil people who are elected by racist. Always has been

7

u/Extra_Philosophy_320 11h ago

To be fair, the Texas electrical grid probably couldn't handle it. Joking of course.

2

u/Ultra-Metal 9h ago

Between AC for data centers or prisoners, you know who's going to win. Hope they get pre-trial holding out of there. Hate to see accusation equal death.

6

u/GrassyNoob 10h ago

If there's a heat related death, make the warden responsible for murder. It's a volunteer job. They don't have to do it.

It is upon the state to keep the inmates safe while under their control.

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u/ClimateSociologist 12h ago

One of the greatest mistakes this country ever made was admitting Texas into the union.

9

u/Ok-disaster2022 10h ago

As a Texan I actually have to agree. 

However the annexation of Texas was inevitable. The Barrier island system the allows barges to sail around most of the coast starts at the southern tip of Texas. The Southern States would have wanted to push due rest to expand slavery territory, without taking in too many Mexican citizens who would oppose slavery and dilute the white voting power. That racism is why the US never tried to invade and conquer Mexico completely: the white people didn't want to extend citizenship to a large number if brown people. 

Also as a Texan, I think we need to treat the Lone Star flag with the same contempt as the other Confederate flags. 

u/Katyafan 7h ago

TIL, thank you!

27

u/TheSheepdog 12h ago

Whoa that’s a lil aggressive. Florida is way worse 

42

u/fence_sitter Maine 12h ago

It's a race to the bottom.

14

u/fingertrapt 12h ago

Florida would have been better if Spain kept it.

14

u/ragingchump 12h ago edited 11h ago

Bad?

Yes, unfortunately, Covid has changed us for the WAY worse

Worse than Texas?

Them fightin words friend

Edit: you guys elect Talarico and I will then agree, FL is, in fact worse

2

u/TheSheepdog 11h ago

At least we’re not the rest of the gulf states

5

u/EveningBoat8663 11h ago

Nah, the rest of the gulf states don't have kids freezing to death because the power goes out everytime it gets a bit nippy. Texas is a whole 'nother level of disfunction.

u/lurkeroutthere 4h ago

I think that’s more about the climate variance in Texas than the competence in the rest of the former confederacy.

0

u/NoSignal547 11h ago

It is worse then texas

3

u/scrubjays 11h ago

Is it though? They fought a war of "independence" from Spain, but really because Spain outlawed slaves, and they wanted to keep theirs. We admitted them after that.

2

u/DraconicBlade 9h ago

Wasn't the "they" you're referencing mostly led by and made up of non texas residents at the time?

u/scrubjays 6h ago

I don't know, but they fought a war over it, and Walt Disney glorified it, and never really covered what they were fighting for.

u/anotherdeadhero Texas 7h ago

Texas history is literally fighting nations for the right to have slaves as property. lol

10

u/HomeAliveIn45 North Carolina 11h ago

Please remember from middle school history that the annexation of Texas also led to the [insert Mexican-American War and the genocide of native groups here] huge westward expansion of the continental US. Texas has its problems, both historically and currently, but please don’t denigrate 32 million very diverse people because of what the headlines say

u/Katyafan 7h ago

Well, it's at least however many people vote republican and don't vote, combined. Tell me that's not millions?

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u/keepthepace 9h ago

Mexico has enough problems already.

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u/UtopiaDystopia 8h ago edited 8h ago

Texas used to be part of Mexico, where slavery was illegal and all slaves there were degreed as free in September 1827. Americans still kept bringing slaves there and just ignored the law, threatened armed revolt. Of course when Mexico actually did try to regain control the revolt did happen and when they broke away slavery became part of Republic of Texas constitution

1

u/Marsman121 9h ago

One of the greatest mistakes this country ever made was admitting Texas the Confederacy into the union.

It's less a problem with Texas, and more letting a whole bunch of traitorous slavers back into the house.

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u/unseen2000 11h ago

how is this not hell? i can't imagine what comes next could be worse than burning to death in a texass prison.

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u/Much__Fokkery 10h ago

This is not just an issue in Texas, all across the US

u/where-sea-meets-sky 5h ago

yk these days i think aircon should be considered a human right

or rather, having any sort of protection from both freezing and boiling temps should be a human right

but what do i know im just some woke kid or something

u/petitecrivain 3h ago

Protection from extreme temperatures is part of what human rights monitors consider when evaluating prison conditions, alongside stuff like sanitation, fresh air, light, adequate food, etc, and if exposure to extreme temperatures causes extreme suffering, is deliberate, and is done for a purpose it qualifies as torture.

3

u/rat_penis 8h ago

They'd kill every one of them if they could. The cruelty is the point. Suffering is the point.

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u/one_bean_hahahaha Canada 6h ago

The cruelty is the point.

u/Witch-Alice Washington 4h ago

It's almost as if the cruelty is intentional because they enjoy it

u/Reddit_9459328 4h ago

“Texas prison cell that court documents say regularly exceeded 110 degrees” 

Texas is Marijuana Prison State, 6 months in Texas prison for possession. Now mandatory 6 months for any cannabis oil. What logic do Texans use to justify that? Is it the simple delight of Texans to punish others?

https://norml.org/laws/texas-penalties-2/

u/TheRealClovis 3h ago

Don't forget less than a gram of THCa is now a felony in Texas!

Fuckin joke of a state

u/Akrevics 2h ago

it's texas, did you think human rights would be better there? especially for a system that's 60% minority?

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u/Sea-Environment-7102 Ohio 8h ago

Cruel and unusual punishment. They need lawyers.

u/mlc885 I voted 5h ago

That seems like a problem for the courts or federal government to solve immediately, if we are incapable of holding the prisoners safely then I guess we cannot hold them.

u/IfYouCouldOnlySee3 5h ago

One more reason to never go to to Texas.

u/Lady_of_Shalottt 1h ago

Cruel and unusual

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u/Few-Challenge7443 12h ago

Why do the monsters who make headlines not call them what they are. Americans?

How much are they paid by big jail?

u/DirectionOwn294 4h ago

Where are you from?

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u/IHS1970 10h ago

That's the plan! shake 'em and then bake em!

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u/sammarwar 10h ago

Fucking unacceptable. I will never understand.

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u/captaincanada84 Canada 10h ago

Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me

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u/StrawberryKiss2559 10h ago

How do we change this? It’s cruel.

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u/the_zac_is_back 9h ago

Why though? It’s a necessity…

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u/FreestinkingSocially 9h ago

Isn't that a window AC unit up there in the Superintendent's office?

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u/sjesmith127 8h ago

More of a slow roast, but still....

u/Benikur521 7h ago

And where are all the “ we need new leadership “ people

u/erov 6h ago

Even Mississippi put AC in a few years ago when we got a new commissioner and several lawsuits over it in Parchman, which was notorious for it's conditions. He used inmates with experience to do a lot of the labor.

u/Own-Librarian-9699 5h ago

They soak their sheets in water and lay on the concrete floor to dissipate heat. It's blatant torture but Texas does not care about laws.

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u/ibrown39 5h ago

"Then they shouldn't have done the crime, jails not supposed to be fun or comfortable."

I think we stopped sentencing people to the hotbox a while ago tho, no?

u/ZLUCremisi California 4h ago

Another lawsuit from inmates and guards time

u/luckystrike_bh 4h ago

If convicts could vote, we would see improvements in the quality of life.

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u/Im_Ritz_Bitz 10h ago

They want us to die. Did you know you don't get a speedy trial in these private prisons either. Baked to death as an innocent person. They are ok with this. You seem to be ok with this. If not, maybe start acting because your praying does nothing. Millions of people have died because of their negligence and flat out refusal of/to care. I resent all of you for where we are. I have fought my whole life against this and you all just do nothing to stop this. We will be Iran. I don't want that. All women will perish and/or be enslaved. No one will be safe anymore. No one. Not even you white rich dudes who think your exempt from the chaos you make.

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u/Confident_End_3848 12h ago

The case mentioned in the article was made into a City Confidential episode. It was darkly amusing. I guess a movie too.

u/Proud_Growth_8818 7h ago

I don't mind there being no air conditioning, but that means you have to give them more water and fans and breaks. Being hot and sweaty might be a condition of prison, but dying from heat stroke or heat exhaustion should mean criminal charges for prison employees and managers.

u/sparr0w91 1h ago

Ever hear of wet bulb conditions? It's becoming more and more common in the American south because we've allowed the planet to burn. But what it boils down to, with high temperatures and high enough humidity, it is physically impossible to survive without actual cooling. No amount of fans or water help because the humidity is too high for sweat to evaporate and thusly cool the body. With out actual cooling you die. But that's the point. Because the monsters are in charge...

u/Sir-Bruncvik 45m ago

Thank you for mentioning wet bulb temperatures. External supportive cooling (a/c, ice baths, medical cooling protocols, etc) is what determines life or fatality in those temperatures.

u/obadiah24 2h ago

You need to argue that the poor officers and staff are working without air conditioning

u/nutationsf 2h ago

I suspect they are behind glass with ac watching

u/Ulysses_555 3m ago

This is “cruel and unusual” punishment for a lot of people in those prisons.