The H. H. Coffield Unit prison near Tennessee Colony is made up of squat redbrick buildings. During the day, the sun beats down on the walls, and the bricks drink in the heat. At night, the heat seeps out of the walls into the cells. That’s when Joshua Sweeting, who’s been at the Coffield Unit since 2019, says the heat is the most unbearable.
“It will take the breath out of you,” he told the Texas Observer in written correspondence.
Built in 1965, the unit houses more than 3,800 men. None of their cells currently have air-conditioning. Sweeting is in solitary, so he has extra steel welded onto his door. He says if it’s 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the wing, it’s at least five to ten degrees hotter in the cells. Staffing shortages mean fewer guards are available to run cool-down showers and distribute cold water, both lifelines for people trying to cope with the state’s record-breaking heat.
