Locked in a locked room at 40 degrees Celsius heat. Warm air comes out of the ventilation and there is no cooling and no protection.
So, life is described in several American prisons during the heatwaves that are only expected to get worse due to climate change.
The temperature during the heatwave had climbed over 43 degrees when an inmate died in one of California's largest women's prisons earlier in July. She appears to have died due to the heat, according to a human rights organization.
A spokesperson for the prison service, however, claims that the death was linked to other health problems – but it will be investigated by forensic pathologists, reports The Guardian.
Inmates in aging prison buildings without air conditioning are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. Just this year, there have been reports of potentially deadly conditions in prisons during heatwaves in California, Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Florida, and several other states.
Yet, policymakers have largely overlooked how the heat affects prisoners in the US, partly due to perceptions that their physical suffering is justified. This is shown by a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Panic and fear
After the death, fear and panic have broken out in the California prison. The cells in the overcrowded facility lack air conditioning, and prisoners say they have not received enough cold water and other necessities to alleviate their suffering and reduce the risk of heatstroke.
They testify to migraines, vomiting, and breathing difficulties.
It feels like an oven. Everyone suffers, says a former female inmate to The Guardian.
Prison authorities say they are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating work with all facilities in the state. To prevent heat-related illnesses, extra ice, water, and cooling areas are being provided, says a spokesperson in a statement.
Cooling with toilet water
For several years, there have been demands to air-condition prisons in the state of Texas. From there, reports are now emerging of dehydration, heat rash, and desperate attempts to cool down with toilet water, reports local media company KXAN.
The state prison authority in Texas has spent 85 million dollars on maintenance work and upgrading, but lacks air-conditioned sleeping quarters for over half of the 132,000 prisoners in the state.
Everyone knows by now that people are literally dying in our prisons due to these extreme temperatures in one form or another, says Amite Dominick from the organization Texas Prison Community Advocates, to KXAN.
