Texas Appeals Prison Air-Conditioning Order to Fifth Circuit, Calling $1.5 Billion Retrofit 'Unachievable'
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit on Oct. 8 and asked U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman to stay his Sept. 22 judgment while the appeal proceeds. The judgment orders air conditioning to be installed in all 104 Texas state prisons by the end of 2029.
In its motion, the state called the 39-month retrofit timeline “unachievable” and put the total cost of air-conditioning every prison at more than $1.5 billion. According to the Texas Tribune, about 90,000 people in Texas prisons currently live without air conditioning.
Extreme heat inside Texas prisons has fueled litigation and public scrutiny all summer. The state's move came in two steps: an Oct. 8 notice of appeal challenging the judgment itself, and a request that Judge Pitman pause enforcement during the appeal so the state need not proceed on the original schedule. Whether the end-of-2029 deadline takes effect now depends on the Fifth Circuit.
(Source: Texian Partisan (citing the Texas Tribune)
Source: Texas Tribune
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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