A federal judge ordered Texas to install air conditioning in all its prisons by 31 December 2029, and the state has already appealed. The ruling, dated 22 September 2026, finds that extreme heat inside prisons violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. This is the state of the case and the figures behind it.
What the judge ordered on Texas prisons without air conditioning
Federal judge Robert Pitman instructed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to immediately create and carry out a plan to cool all its units. As The Texas Tribune reported, installation must be finished no later than 31 December 2029.
| Point of the ruling | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 September 2026 |
| Judge | Robert Pitman, federal court |
| Final deadline | 31 December 2029 |
| Grounds | Extreme heat is cruel and unusual punishment |
| Progress reports | Every six months; the first by 22 March 2027 |
How many people live in Texas prisons without air conditioning
Texas has the largest state prison system in the United States. The TDCJ runs 86 prisons, and most of its population lives without cooling.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| State prisons run by the TDCJ | 86 |
| People in units without air conditioning, at the start of summer 2026 | About 88,700 |
| Air-conditioned beds, according to the TDCJ | More than 53,000 |
| Share of the population with a cooled bed, according to the ruling | Around 37% |
The figures vary slightly depending on who calculates them and on what basis, but they agree on the essentials: about two out of three people imprisoned in Texas spend the summer without air conditioning, in a state where summer temperatures can exceed 38 °C (100 °F).
How much it would cost to air-condition Texas prisons
The TDCJ itself has said it intends to cool all prisons, but never set itself a deadline. It estimates the project would cost about 1.5 billion dollars. Its budget request includes 289 million for that purpose, far less than the agency told the judge it could commit, according to coverage by KUT, Austin's public radio station.
How the case over prisons without air conditioning got here
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2024 | A coalition of organizations sues the TDCJ and accuses it of ignoring, and even hiding, heat-related deaths |
| 2025 | Judge Pitman declares excessive heat is likely unconstitutional punishment, but orders no immediate measures and sets a trial |
| 2026 | After a two-week trial in Austin, the judge orders all prisons cooled by the end of 2029 |
| October 2026 | Texas appeals to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals |
What happens now with the air conditioning ruling
The state's lawyers appealed to the Fifth Circuit, a conservative-majority court, and asked Judge Pitman to suspend the order while the appeal is resolved, according to The Texas Tribune. At the time of writing no decision on that suspension was known.
In the meantime the order stands: the TDCJ must present its plan and report progress every six months.
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Frequently asked questions
Do Texas prisons have air conditioning?
Only in part. The TDCJ reports more than 53,000 cooled beds, but about 88,700 people were living in units without air conditioning at the start of summer 2026.
What deadline did the judge set?
All units must have air conditioning no later than 31 December 2029.
Why does the judge consider the heat unconstitutional?
Because he found that high temperatures violate the US Constitution's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Will Texas comply with the order?
The state appealed and asked for the order to be suspended. Until a court says otherwise, the order is in force.
