7 August 28 - september 3, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Deadly Heat One sweltering summer day, while working on the roof at ECI, Jack B.* says he grew light- headed and nauseated. Soon after, he began vomiting and dry heaving — episodes that persisted for about 45 minutes. At 57 years old, he says his body no longer handles the heat like it once did. The relent- less temperatures leave him constantly drained, both mentally and physically. “It’s as if my brain is going into protective mode and shutting down certain brain func- tions or capabilities in order to preserve [its] health,” he says. “I struggle to get motivated to complete the simplest task because my brain isn’t functioning at its peak capacity.” He says the heat feels impossible to escape in the concrete prison. “Even as we speak, sweat is both running down my back and drip- ping in my lap,” Jack says. “It’s as if every word that I speak has its own bead of sweat.” Thanks to cli- mate change, heat waves and days with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit are be- coming more fre- quent. This can be especially danger- ous for people be- hind bars: When outdoor tempera- tures exceed 100 degrees outside, studies have shown that heat indexes in some prisons and jails can reach 150 degrees because the buildings tend to trap heat. In an email to New Times, an FDOC spokesperson said that in housing units with- out air conditioning, like those at ECI, “vari- ous climate control measures are used to reduce heat, including industrial fans, exhaust systems that promote high air exchange, and ceiling or wall-mounted circulation fans.” “In addition, all housing units contain re- frigerated water fountains to provide a source of cool water for the inmate population,” the spokesperson wrote, adding that prison staff members are trained to recognize signs of heat-related illness and respond as necessary. “Advisories and informational materials are distributed to ensure that staff can recog- nize the symptoms of heat stroke and heat ex- haustion and provide treatment,” they wrote. “Medical staff provides instruction during the initial reception process and during each institutional orientation to educate inmates on ways to prevent heat-related illness.” Extreme heat is dangerous for a handful of reasons. Not only can it impair cognitive func- tion, but it’s also been found to potentially exac- erbate violent outbreaks. A 2021 study of Mississippi correctional facilities found that, on days when the average temperature reached or exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the rate of violent interactions increased by 20 percent. The effects of extreme heat in prisons can also be deadly. “[Every] one-degree increase above 85 de- grees Fahrenheit in prisons without air con- ditioning was associated with a 0.7 percent increase in the risk of daily mortality,” ac- cording to a Brown University study of heat- related mortality in Texas prisons between 2001 and 2019. Because the FDOC doesn’t report heat-re- lated illnesses or deaths as part of its inmate health and mortality data, it remains unclear how many people have died of heat-related illnesses in Florida prisons. Legal Efforts In late 2024, the civil rights group Florida Jus- tice Institute (FJI) filed a lawsuit against the FDOC on behalf of people incarcerated at Dade Correctional Institution, a state prison in Homestead, alleging that the extreme heat contributed to the deaths of four prisoners and the illness of several others at the aging facility. The suit — which alleges the state has “knowingly” subjected incarcerated people to “unbearable heat” and has failed to take “meaningful action” to protect prisoners from the heat — asks that the extreme heat be ruled as unconstitutional under the Eighth Amend- ment and that the FDOC take mitigation mea- sures, including installing air conditioning. “The dormitories lack air conditioning, and to the extent they ever had functional ventilation systems, those systems have fallen into abysmal disrepair. As a result, the hot air is stagnant, fetid, and contaminated with rust, bacteria, and mold,” the lawsuit reads. “These conditions cause people incarcerated at Dade CI to suffer, fall ill, and die, while the FDC ig- nores their pleas for relief.” The lawsuit details several instances of death and illness among the population that they attribute to the prison’s extreme tem- peratures, but notes that the FDOC only clas- sifies fatalities in four broad categories: “homicide,” “suicide,” “accident,” and “natu- ral” — and deaths by heat stroke are typically classified as “natural.” For instance, in September 2021, a 72-year- old man identified only as J.W. collapsed while walking to the infirmary and later died, ac- cording to the lawsuit. The suit claims that the heat index that day was 92.2 degrees Fahren- heit, within the “Extreme Caution” range for healthy individuals. But while J.W. suffered from asthma, hy- pertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease, and his official cause of death was listed as “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” FDOC deemed his death “natural,” according to the lawsuit. “It is likely that prolonged exposure to Dade CI’s heat was a contributory cause of his death,” the lawsuit alleges. In May, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Wil- liams rejected FDOC’s request to dismiss the suit. The case is in the discovery phase, with a trial set for July 2026. This story would not have been possible without reporting contributions from Anthony Cobb, a journalist incarcerated at Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) in Miami who conducted the interviews with the ECI prison- ers quoted in the article. Cobb reports on prison reform and has written for Prism, Scalawag Magazine, and the Prison Journalism Project. [email protected] “WE’RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT’S HUMANE AND WHAT’S INHUMANE, AND THIS IS THE MOST INHUMANE THING EVER.” NFC teams they anticipate will compete in the Super Bowl. And while the majority of Fins’ fans reported they felt nervous about the forthcom- ing season, only 28 percent of them thought their team would make it to the Super Bowl. Across the NFL, 54 percent of fans polled reported that they’re nervous about their team’s upcoming season. And while Miami’s 62 percent puts them above average, it’s still not near the top of the panic rankings. That honor goes to the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, and Detroit Lions, all of which had 71 percent of their fans admit to preseason anxiety. For per- spective, Los Angeles Chargers fans claim to be the least anxious in football, with only 27 per- cent saying they’re worried. Delirious Dolphins Fans What’s worse than an anxious Dolphins fan? A delirious one. With that in mind, someone may want to check on the aforementioned 28 per- cent of Dolphins fans polled by PromoGuy, who predicted that Miami would making it to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. At the same time, it’s insane to say out loud, compared to Eagles fans (89 percent), Kansas City Chiefs fans (83 percent), and the lowest believers, Colts fans (8 percent), and Jaguars fans (5 percent), Fins fans once again fall in the middle of the spec- trum — pun intended. Looking across the league, there is no sane reason for any Dolphins fan to believe that their beloved team would realistically make it to the big game, much less win it. Still, you have to ad- mire the dedication and loyalty that keep us all coming back for more. Anxiously Filled with Hope It would be perfectly acceptable to be cau- tiously optimistic entering a new season. Still, the 2025 campaign is simply gaslighting Dol- phins fans who have watched three seasons of Mike McDaniel-Tua Tagovailoa teams experi- ence the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Miami enters the upcoming season with the ninth-easiest schedule in the NFL, but a multi- tude of questions remain, even on the eve of the regular season. Between Tagovailoa’s con- cussion issues, Tyreek Hill’s hot and cold feel- ings about being a Dolphin, a secondary full of massive holes, and a head coach whose tenure has been marked by lost locker rooms and a lack of player respect, Miami’s range of out- comes this season span from picking first in the 2026 NFL Draft to a deep playoff run, if things go their way. Good, bad, or indifferent, expect Dolphins fans to lack fingernails and for therapists in the tri-country area to be busier than ever as the season grows long. It’s a tradition like none other. Finxiety from p4 Hot Enough for You? from p6
