prisons

A new comprehensive analysis of state data shows Texas prisons get so hot in summer that temperatures there would routinely violate state standards for other types of lockups. The state will be back in federal court to defend the conditions behind bars.

The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General found widespread abuse of shackles in federal prisons. One prisoner was held in restraints so tight that he had to have a limb amputated.

The investigation was triggered by a federal judge, who questioned the state’s recordkeeping. Inmates are suing the state, alleging the heat inside the state’s dozens of un-air conditioned prisons is dangerous.

Newly released autopsies show extreme temperatures in state prisons may have contributed to multiple recent deaths behind bars. But the state says heat hasn’t killed any prisoners in more than a decade. A lawsuit challenging Texas prison heat protocols will be heard in federal court on Tuesday.

Four nonprofits joined a federal lawsuit to protect people in Texas prisons from the heat. It's one of several attempts over the years to address this issue, but efforts haven't gotten much traction.

Harris, Tarrant and Bexar counties say their local jails are backed up with convicted state prisoners. The state says it's following the law.

By one measure, about a third of all prisoners will be considered geriatric by 2030. Prison systems are grappling with how to care for their elderly prisoners — and how to pay for it.

A proposed Bureau of Prisons rule would put the majority of money sent to an incarcerated person from outside toward restitution or other fines.

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