Survey Turns Spotlight on Prison Heat Crisis

By Willy Blackmore | Word In Black(WIB) – On July 3, as a heat dome of historic intensity parked itself over the West Coast, the National Weather Service office in San Francisco issued a dire warning: “It cannot be stressed enough that this is an exceptionally dangerous and lethal situation.” Forecasters expected the life-threatening heat to last for at least the next 10 days. The warning didn’t matter, though, at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla — the second-largest women’s prison in the United States. A day later, on July 4, as temperatures reached 109 degrees, Adrienne Boulware, 47,& stood outside in the prison yard& for 15 minutes, waiting to be given her medication.RELATED:& Extreme Heat& Waves Aren’t ‘Just Summer’Once back inside, she tried to cool off by showering, but with cell temperatures regularly reaching as high as 97 degrees in the prison, she became unresponsive and exhibited signs of heat exhaustion. Boulware died two days later.So, as Black Americans continue to be imprisoned at a disproportionately high rate, like Boulware, they’re also disproportionately affected by extreme heat in carceral facilities.& When extreme heat hits prison populations that often lack access to air conditioning — or even the freedom...