BALTIMORE — After a day of record-breaking, triple-digit heat in Maryland, Michele Kennedy Kouadio took a call from her son, who's currently serving time in the Eastern Correctional Institute.
"He said last night they brought out somebody from one of the cells who collapsed,” she told WMAR-2 News’ Elizabeth Worthington.
It wasn't until her son was incarcerated that she learned Maryland's state prisons don't have central A/C. It's the case in most states throughout the U.S., including those with some of the highest daily temperatures.
"I don't think that most people realize this,” she said. “He [her son] said even if you passed by a car and you saw a dog locked in the car and it was 100 degrees, you would do everything to free that dog from that condition immediately. So he's likening himself to like they're being treated as less than human, with these conditions."
In the last two years she's become an advocate for reform, testifying in front of congress, and working with the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform. While she wants legislation to make future changes, she's also demanding action now, while the summer heat is still at its peak. She suggests emergency interim measures, like distributing portable A/C units to each cell.
"Imagine day in and day out, and sometimes they're on lockdown 23 out of 24 hours because they don't have sufficient correctional officers. Imagine that, you're living in a box, there's no cell door so there's no air circulation. Just put yourself in that place, or your family members.”
The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) says during extreme conditions, staff provide ice and cold water throughout the day, ensure that each housing unit has fans, and closely monitor temperatures inside the building. The department also says any inmate who needs relief will be brought to a cool area inside the facility, such as the medical area.
But Brianna Ciampo, who's fiancé is serving time in the Dorsey Run Correctional Facility in Jesus says:
"I've been on the phone when it technically should be their turn and I could hear the COs in the background saying, no you can't go in there. And it was on days where the heat index was like 105 and up,” she told WMAR-2 News. “I mean, I get it, you don’t want to give them all the privileges of people on the outside but at some point you have to realize, their health matters too.”
"That's unacceptable for you to say that your solution for your prison being 120 degrees is that you give somebody a cup of ice,” Joshua Hatch said in response to DPSCS’ heat mitigation policy.
Hatch, former inmate-turned advocate, agrees that the policies aren’t always followed, and even if they were, he says it’s not enough.
"It's 100 degrees outside. It's about 120 degrees on the inside once that steel heats up,” he said. "Some people see it [A/C] as a luxury. 'You're being soft on people who are incarcerated.' Others like myself, see it as a fundamental right that's guarded by the 8th Amendment, which says that there's no cruel and unusual punishment.”
Hatch says fights and violence would break out more often in the summer months, a claim that's backed up by studies like this one from 2021, which found that on days where the average temperature is 80 degrees or higher, daily violent interactions were increased by 20%, and the probability of any violence went up by 18%.
Hatch also says many inmates are on medications like psychotropics, which can impair your body's ability to regulate its temperature. Exposure to excessive heat can lead to serious health conditions.
"At the end of the day, that is the state's responsibility. Irregardless of the person being incarcerated, they still have an obligation to ensure that person is safe while they're in their custody,” he told Worthington.
Whether or not there’s an appetite for this type of reform isn’t clear. We reached out to lawmakers in both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly. House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany County) is the only one who got back to us so far. In a statement, he told WMAR-2 News:
"At a time when Maryland is facing budget deficits and our middle class families are foregoing many expenditures they'd love to make—from vacations to medications—it's simply out of touch to suggest that installing air conditioning in state prison cells is a priority for taxpayer dollars. It gets hot for a few months in Maryland in the summer—that is nothing new for our state. These prison facilities were built recognizing these realities, and providing convicted felons with central air conditioning round the clock has never been an issue before, and shouldn't be now."
We also reached out to the Governor’s office to see if he would support any legislation surrounding this issue. A spokesperson referred us to DPSCS. The department’s statement to WMAR-2 News reads in full:
"Under these extreme conditions, the department undertakes multiple steps to mitigate the heat and ensure the health and well-being of both incarcerated individuals and staff. The department provides ice and cold water throughout the day and ensures that each housing unit is equipped with fans and air handling units. Staff closely monitor temperatures in all housing units across our facilities and continuously check on the incarcerated residents' welfare.
In addition to equipping housing units with fans and air handling units, each facility employs areas such as libraries, education buildings, and medical areas that do have air conditioning as additional support services areas. We offer respite to any incarcerated individual in need, bringing them into the cool areas within the facility where they are monitored for as long as necessary.
There have been no reports of any heat-related illness during the recent extreme heat conditions.”
This past legislative session, a bill passed that established an Office of the Correctional Ombudsman, which would provide oversight and serve as an independent watchdog for the Maryland prison system. It’s unclear when that office will get up and running.