A Group of Formerly Incarcerated Women Sued to Get Air Conditioning in Every Texas Prison

A group of formerly incarcerated women sued to get air conditioning in every Texas prison

A group led by formerly incarcerated women spent years advocating for those trapped inside prison walls during Texas’ hot summers.

The ‘lionesses’ who sued to get air conditioning in every Texas prison

These Texas advocates call themselves “lionesses” for a reason: They say backing down is not in their nature. In 2022, a small group of formerly incarcerated women formed the nonprofit Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance to empower communities to challenge harmful practices within the criminal legal system. Since that time, they have put a spotlight […]

I’ve watched fellow inmates suffer deadly Texas summers for decades. A new ruling could help protect us

In the summer of 2023, 65-year-old Bernie Tiede, the former mortician serving a life sentence for a murder that inspired Richard Linklater’s dark comedy “Bernie,” suffered a stroke. He was housed in a cell without air conditioning in a Texas prison. With the assistance of several high-profile…