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Federal Court Says Texas Prisons Without Air Conditioning Violates Eighth Amendment

Monday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Texas case that extreme heat can violate prisoners' rights. The case, which involved a 64-year-old former Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate suffered from hypertension and other medical ailments, claimed that the extreme heat the prisoners endured amounted to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. A federal court in New Orleans held that allowing an inmate to be "exposed to extreme temperatures can constitute a violation of the Eighth Amendment." The case was remanded back to the district court forRead More