Federal judge orders Texas to air condition all prisons by the end of 2029

On Sept. 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to install air conditioning in every state prison by Dec. 31, 2029, finding that extreme indoor heat in uncooled facilities violates the Eighth Amendment and reflects deliberate indifference. He demanded an immediate plan and six‑month status reports starting March 22, 2027. TDCJ said it will appeal and estimated the work could cost about $1.5 billion; as of Sept. 1 only about a third of the system’s 104 facilities were fully cooled and the agency reported 53,676 cooled beds, with plans to reach 60,000 this year and 90,000 by 2028 while the prison population is projected to exceed 150,000. TDCJ requested roughly $289 million for prison air conditioning and $591.8 million for climate‑controlled expansion dorms in its legislative budget ask, but the judge noted those amounts fall short of what the agency had previously told the court it could obligate.

The ruling follows a trial and a 2025 finding that prison heat was likely unconstitutional; Pitman cited evidence of ongoing injuries, severe suffering and credible proof of at least nine heat‑related deaths from 2023-2025 and a longer history of heat‑linked fatalities. He rejected reliance on mitigation measures such as water, fans, cooled respite rooms and a heat‑score prioritization system as inadequate and unevenly applied. Advocates and formerly incarcerated plaintiffs hailed the decision as historic and life‑saving, while the judge made clear that financial constraints do not excuse noncompliance, setting the stage for a fight over funding, implementation oversight and appeals.