One group won the case in federal court. but it only requires that a small portion of a unit provide AC.
Apparently, the group had previous health issues as part of the lawsuit, so...it only applies to a group who have certain health conditions. Also there are some geriatric and other units in Texas which have AC. (I think retrofitting these small units wasn't as expensive as retrofitting general population)
So, what is boils down to is general population doesn't have legal recourse yet.
Prisons in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida also don't have AC.
The fifth court of appeals is a gatekeeper too.
However, I still don't know why this isn't illegal or why there hasn't been more success.
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-states-dont-universal-air-conditioning.html
Examining local and national news stories, we identified 12 states in the South and Midwest that lack universal air conditioning and identified only Arkansas as having universal air conditioning.
State Air Conditioning?
Alabama Prisons in Alabama do not have air conditioning.
Arizona Many prisons in Arizona lack air conditioning. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/09/arizona-officials-allegedly-covered-up-how-hot-it-got-in-some-state-prisons/
Florida State run prisons do not have air conditioning, but private prisons in the state do have air conditioning.
Georgia Most prisons have air conditioning, but some do not. (Source)
Kansas Most prisons do not have air conditioning. 70 percent of incarcerated people are in buildings without air conditioning. )
Kentucky Most prisons do not have air conditioning.
Louisiana Most prisons do not have air conditioning. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_a222bb3e-7d92-11e9-bf1d-57767ce4f72d.html
Mississippi Most inmate housing in Mississippi has no air conditioning
Missouri Some prisons lack universal air conditioning. (Source)
North Carolina Most prisons have air conditioning, but 10 facilities do not. (Source)
South Carolina Most prisons have air conditioning, but some facilities do not. (Source)
Texas 30 of the 109 state prisons in Texas have air conditioning in all housing areas. (This is despite the fact county jails in the state are statutorily required keep their temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees). (Source)
Virginia Half of prisons have no air conditioning. (Source)
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2019/06/18/air-conditioning/
= new reply since forum marked as read
