‘We're Treating Them Like Animals.' Lawmakers Debate Bill to Lower Heat in Texas Prisons

AUSTIN — Torture. Intolerable. A death sentence.These are some of the words used to described the conditions inside state jails and prisons in the summer months, when the hot Texas sun can push temperatures up past 130 degrees. Lawmakers who heard the testimony Thursday — from guards, inmates' families and former prisoners — now have to decide whether to force the state to invest millions, and maybe more, to finally tackle the problem. "These people are not animals and we're treating them like animals," Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, told his peers on the House Committee on Corrections. "It's crazy. It's twisted. It's sad. And it's not who we are."  Continue reading...

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