6 December 22–28, 2022 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents warm sink water and a series of fans sta- tioned throughout the unit. If they have the means to do so, some may buy a handheld fan. It’s often far from enough. Researchers determined that approxi- mately 13% of mortality in warm months be- tween 2001 and 2019 may be attributable to extreme heat. In other words, the potent combo of soaring temps and no air condi- tioning may have led to 271 deaths in Texas prisons. For comparison, around 0.4% of deaths in the non-incarcerated population are heat-related. Notably, the study did not include this past summer (one of the hottest on record), nor did it include three summers in which COVID-19 has ravaged prisons. “I’m really concerned if we were to run that study again this past year, that those numbers would dramatically increase,” Dominick told the Observer. “In July alone, we had 51 deaths associated with cardiac symptoms, and I strongly suspect heat was a factor.” Dominick also says the Texas Depart- ment of Criminal Justice has historically downplayed the impact of heat in its facili- ties and the number of deaths associated with high temps. In fact, at a July hearing before the Texas House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee, the depart- ment’s executive director claimed that there have been no heat-related deaths since 2012. (In 2018, a coroner ruled an incarcerated man had died by heat stroke, but Texas prison officials contest that finding.) In response to questions from the Ob- server, the department said, in part, “The agency recognizes that some inmates are potentially at a heightened risk of heat-re- lated illnesses because of their age, health conditions, or medications. These individu- als are identified through an automated heat sensitivity score that uses information from the inmate’s electronic health record. Indi- viduals who have a heat sensitivity score re- ceive priority placement in a housing area that is air-conditioned.” A spokesperson also pointed to an ongoing initiative to add “cooled beds” to their facility, and they said there were “13 inmates who re- quired medical care beyond first aid for heat- related injuries” in 2022, but none were fatal. However, the department appears to spend more resources combatting lawsuits than it does pursuing the installation of AC. In one infamous case, officials spent multi- ple years and $7 million fighting legal efforts to cool the Wallace Pack Unit, which houses elderly people. According to the Texas Tri- bune, the unit’s new air conditioning cost the state about $4 million. The constant haggling over finances is a particular source of irritation for Ella (not her real name), whose husband has been in- carcerated in a series of Texas prisons going on five years. The Observer spoke to her and her son, and because of the stigma attached to incarceration, the two asked the paper to use pseudonyms. “The good people of Texas don’t give a rat’s behind,” Ella says. “Even friends of mine, they don’t care. They’re good Chris- tian people. They’re in church every Sunday; some of them are pastors. In this situation, mercy is lost on them.” But it’s not lost on the researchers behind this new study. Julianne Skarha, an environmental health scholar at Brown, was still mulling the exact topic of her dissertation when she visited a prison in Cranston, Rhode Island, roughly five years ago. She was initially planning to investi- gate the effects of air pollution in prisons; then she visited the part of the facility where incar- cerated people make license plates. “I couldn’t get over how hot it was,” she says. “I talked to some of the guys, and they said, ‘Oh it gets way worse in summer.’” Skarha was also disturbed by the plight of men enduring solitary confinement. “It’s awful to comprehend, yet people are living with that reality every day,” she says. “They’re dealing with high suicide rates and horrid conditions, and on top of all that, you have the heat.” Skarha and Dominick, who collaborated on the study, are hoping the research will create more awareness of the severe tem- peratures harming the state’s prison popula- tion and staff. At the same time, Dominick has plenty of reasons to be discouraged. The advocate says she discussed the mat- ter with Texas lawmakers at a committee hearing this past summer, and while some appeared moved by the stories Dominick shared, none expressed an immediate desire to address the problem. It’s simply a matter of political will, she noted, and for those in- carcerated in the state, there is often none. Meanwhile, scientists warn global warm- ing could make the heat in Texas even worse, thereby adding to the peril prisoners already face. For example, experts say the number of extremely hot days will increase exponen- tially by the middle of the century. In Texas, that could mean as many as 50 consecutive days where the heat index surpasses 105 de- grees Fahrenheit. For people like Ella’s son Alan, who has already watched his father experience five blistering summers behind bars, that means more worries, more uncertainty and more painful letters to people like Dominick. When faced with inaction from the state, Alan says, his dad has no option but to tough out the heat each year. “Imagine you’re in a hot sauna, and someone locks the door on you,” Alan says. “What would you do?” ▼ LGBTQ Holy Bigotry Texas aG Ken PaxTon sues Biden To allow lGBTQ discriminaTion in fosTer care, adoPTion services . by Jacob Vaughn A ttorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against President Joe Biden’s administration to allow faith-based adoption agencies to discrimi- nate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation and same-sex marriage status while being a part of the state’s adoption process and receiving federal money. The action stems from the Sexual Orien- tation and Gender Identity Rule that was ad- opted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during President Barack Obama’s administration. The rule barred foster care and adoption service organiza- tions from discriminating on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation and same-sex marriage. “There are so many vital religious institu- tions in Texas and around the country that can aid in making sure foster children are protected and able to find good homes,” Pax- ton said in a press release on Monday. “The [Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity] Rule would force them either to adopt a radi- cal woke agenda or surrender their mission of helping children. That’s not right. It’s a dis- grace that the Biden Administration is play- ing politics with our foster care and adoption services, and this lawsuit aims to put our chil- dren first and to protect religious freedom.” Paxton’s office didn’t respond to a re- quest for comment. Texas filed a similar lawsuit in 2019 to strike down the rule. But a federal district court found the case moot because the Department of Health and Hu- man Services promised not to enforce the rule and said it would later revise it. President Donald Trump’s administra- tion took a stab at repealing the rule, but those efforts ultimately failed. According to Paxton, the Biden Administration has been committed to enforcing the rule, which is why he filed the lawsuit on Monday. In the lawsuit, Paxton argues that neither the state nor its Department of Family Pro- tection Services violates the sexual orienta- tion and gender identity rule. “They serve all foster children and are willing to work with all potential foster parents,” according to the lawsuit. However, the state does work with vari- ous third parties that have “sincerely held religious beliefs that would prevent them from following” the rule, according to the lawsuit. If the rule is enforced, the state will have to do without federal funding or stop working with agencies that want to discrim- inate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation and same-sex marriage status. “In either case, Plaintiff — but more im- portantly, Texas foster children — will be harmed,” according to the lawsuit. If you asked Todd Hill, president of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, lawsuits like these are a part of an attack against the LG- BTQ community. “Discrimination cannot and should not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Hill said in an emailed statement. “Unfortu- nately though, Republicans like Paxton continue their full-fledged assault on the LGBTQ+ community with hateful lawsuits like this. How ironic it is that a federally in- dicted and corrupt attorney general is us- ing his position in an attempt to govern morality.” Hill is referring to the seven-year-old se- curities fraud indictment against Paxton, as well as a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the attorney general of abuse of office. Paxton has always denied any wrongdoing. Hill said Republicans like to preach a bumper sticker slogan of being pro-life, “but when it actu- ally comes to taking care of a life they’d rather marginalize and discriminate under the ruse of ‘religious freedom.’” “Hate and discrimination are not the teachings of Jesus Christ, but love and com- passion are,” Hill said. “LGBTQ+ individuals and couples are fully capable of providing compassionate and loving homes to abused, abandoned and neglected children in Texas and elsewhere across the nation.” Earlier this year Paxton issued a legal opinion on transgender care. People at or- ganizations including Yale University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said Paxton’s opinion was based on outdated, debunked and mischar- acterized information. But that didn’t stop Gov. Greg Abbott from directing Child Pro- tective Services to investigate families with children receiving gender-affirming care as possible child abuse cases. The state’s Su- preme Court would later rule that this was an overreach of the governor and attorney general’s powers. The Washington Post reported this week that, for reasons still unknown, Paxton’s of- fice requested state data on everyone who had changed their gender on their driver’s license. All of this comes as numerous bills are filed early ahead of the state’s legislative ses- sion that aim to criminalize activities like gender-affirming care and drag shows. The vast majority of Texas prisons do not have air conditioning. Pictured is the minimum- security Carol Vance Unit near Houston. Joe Raedle/Newsmakers (Getty) Unfair Park from p4
