Texas charges prisoners 50% more for water as heat wave continues [View all]

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https://www.tpr.org/criminal-justice/2023-07-20/texas-charges-prisoners-50-more-for-water-for-as-heat-wave-continues

The price of bottled water went up 50% in prison commissaries across Texas last month. The controversial move has two state agencies pointing the finger at each other as inmates struggle to endure an entrenched and deadly heatwave in facilities without air conditioning.

The state raised the price from $4.80 per case (24 bottles) to $7.20 per case on June 27. Commissary vendor Royal Pacific Tea Company requested to raise the prices in March even though it contract was incomplete. The prices were negotiated by the state comptroller's office and appear to be approved by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

About two-thirds of Texas prisons lack air conditioning, and 271 deaths between 2001-2019 may have been caused by extreme heat days, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Inmates and their families are bearing the burden of the price increase at a dangerous time — with heat in Texas prisons regularly in excess of what would be considered “safe” levels in county jails. No similar restriction on temperature exists for state prisons, and internal temperatures in June were largely above the 90s with some facilities over 100 degrees.