At least 41 people have died in the Lone Star State’s unairconditioned prisons due to heat-related or unknown conditions this summer, according to the Texas Tribune.

Even so, it’s hard to firmly establish how many have succumbed to heat-related illness, according to observers. That’s because TDCJ’s official stance is that no inmates have died of heat exhaustion since 2012 — the same year the agency began to be bombarded with wrongful death lawsuits from inmates’ families, the Tribune reports.

  • @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    541 year ago

    Not for nothin, but…The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” So since you can die fron heat exhaustion, it probably is a cruel and unusual punishment.

    • Billiam
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      161 year ago

      No no no, you’re wrong! See, it says “cruel AND unusual” and since death is a common result from overheating, it is not unusual and therefore can’t be “cruel AND unusual” thus doesn’t violate the eighth amendment!

      (Yes, some of them believe this unironically.)