Extreme Heat Another Form Of Death Sentence In Texas Jails

Amite Dominick, founder and president of Texas Prisons Community Advocates, says inmates are suffering in high heat in the state's penitentiaries (Credit: AFP)

Prison cells so hot that inmates splash themselves with toilet water. Jails described as ovens where convicts are baked to death.

An advocacy organization is suing the US state of Texas to mandate air conditioning for tens of thousands of inmates, arguing that temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celsius), according to convicts, are cruel and unconstitutional.