GATESVILLE, Texas — It won't be your typical Saturday night in the rural community of Gatesville this weekend.
Two prisoner advocacy groups plan to hold a prayer vigil and rally to raise awareness about the sweltering heat conditions playing out inside Texas prisons this summer.
"It makes it sound like it's a luxury. It's not. We're asking for the temps to be between 65 and 85. We need temperature control so we don't have these dangerous temperatures we're seeing," said Jennifer Toon, the leader of the Lioness Impacted Women's Alliance.
Toon says well over a dozen deaths within TDCJ facilities this summer can be linked to the heat. Gatesville is home to both men's and women's prisons, which provide hundreds of local jobs.
"This isn't just about the inmates. Workers are in these conditions, too," said Toon.
Right now, only about 30 percent of state prison facilities have air conditioning. The last time the state will acknowledge an inmate officially died from the heat was 2012.
Durning the past legislative session, the Texas house passed a bill with millions in maintenance funding for TDCJ facilities. It stalled out in the state senate.
The vigil is at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at Raby Park, 400 S. 8th St. in Gatesville.
