RT Article
T1 Inmates with Heat-Sensitive Health Conditions: Surveying Prisoner Litigation in the Age of Climate Change
JF Criminal justice review
VO 50
IS 1
SP 5
OP 25
A1 Palacios, Jazmin E.
A2 Vaughn, Michael
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1917860021
AB Rising temperatures and severe heat, as a result of climate change, have led to a significant number of heat-related deaths and injuries among correctional populations in the United States. This article analyzes cases from the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals in which inmates challenged the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement in extremely hot facilities pursuant Title 42 U.S. Code Section 1983. An inductive analysis of caselaw revealed two themes: inmates with heat-sensitive health conditions and reasonable staff responses to inmate's heat exposure. The article concludes by offering policy guidance to prison officials based on the themes revealed in the circuit court decisions and by providing recommendations for future research.
K1 health and medical care in prisons
K1 extreme heat in prisons
K1 hot prisons
K1 prison conditions of confinement
K1 corrections section 1983 litigation
DO 10.1177/07340168231166748