Why are there still inhumane conditions in the state prison system?

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Those stirring words by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were written in 1963 while the civil rights leader sat behind bars in an Alabama lock-up.

His now-famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” continues to resonate as we approach the 89th anniversary of his birth and the 50th commemoration of his death (in April) at the hands of an assassin in 1968.

Many, including Gov. Greg Abbott, are preparing to celebrate the life of the slain leader Monday on the federal holiday established in his honor. I wonder if Abbott, who will serve as honorary grand marshal of of Arlington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, agrees with those words King wrote while sitting “alone in a narrow jail cell” almost 55 years ago.

If so, will someone please ask the governor and members of the Texas Legislature why they still allow injustices in the state prison system by continuing to operate penitentiaries with conditions that are inhumane?

In its 170-year history, the Texas prison system has been noted for its ill treatment of inmates sentenced there, and it has been reluctant to making meaningful positive changes without the intervention of the federal courts.

For years I’ve written about the oppressive summer heat in state prisons — the vast majority of which have no air-conditioning — and I have helped a non-profit organization raise money to buy fans (through the prison commissary) for indigent prisoners.

But last week, as reported by The Texas Tribune, there was a lack of adequate heating in more than 30 prisons during a severe cold snap in the state. The Tribune cited reports from inmates’ family members made through the advocacy group, Texas Inmate Families Association. The Star-Telegram Editorial Board also called for state officials to fix the problem saying heat is a basic necessity during the winter.

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), while noting problems with at least one heater in one unit, told the Tribune that all units in the system were “operating with adequate heating.”

Despite repeated complaints through the years, state prisons continue to operate while putting inmates’ health at risk, especially because state officials have resisted air-conditioning all prison units — some of which have been said to reach 130 degrees during the summer. Since 2007, at least 14 inmates have died of heat-related causes.

That is one reason that during the coldest months of the year Texas Citizens for the Rehabilitation of Errants (TX-CURE) begins its annual “Fan Project” drive to purchase $20-fans for those inmates declared, by TDCJ, indigent — a prisoner who has had less than $5 in his/her trust fund account during the last six months.

Last year, the campaign provided fans for 733 prisoners at a cost of $14,660. Since its inception in 2002, the Fan Project, with the help of individuals, faith groups and other organizations, has bought fans for more than 10,800 prisoners.

I know there are plenty of people who don’t care about people behind bars, and would do nothing that might offer them any comfort even in life-and-death situations. Thank God, everyone doesn’t feel that way.

While I naturally appeal to caring people to help out when the state won’t, my real appeal is to state political leaders to step up in the name of justice to correct the past wrongs.

In 2013, when lawsuits were filed against the state by prisoners and guards who have to work in the same inhumane conditions, it was estimated that the cost of air-conditioning all prison units would be $55 million.

That’s a small amount to rectify a major injustice in this state, and Gov. Abbott and legislators should not have to wait on a court order to do the right thing.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Why are there still inhumane conditions in the state prison system?."