Newly released autopsies show extreme temperatures in state prisons may have contributed to multiple recent deaths behind bars. But the state says heat hasn’t killed any prisoners in more than a decade. A lawsuit challenging Texas prison heat protocols will be heard in federal court on Tuesday.
I’m a paramedic, these are absolutely fatal temperatures. “Oh WeLl He HaD a SeIzUrE dIsOrDeR”, yeah, it’s called heat stroke, you mop handle. People have seizures from heat stroke. Turns out that stuff that makes seizures more likely tends to provoke seizures, go fucking figure. “Well, hold on, they had medical conditions”, yeah, medical conditions make people more vulnerable to heat exposure, which means that when you let their core temperatures get up to the level of causing a heat stroke, they’re going to fucking die.
I really hope the next of kin can try to get an independent examiner to review their case and sue these jackasses to the point where they can’t even keep their dog’s shit, because this is absolutely 100% gross negligence, manslaughter, and downright immoral, unethical behavior.
It’s not manslaughter. The Depraved Indifference (also called Depraved-Heart) rule elevates it to murder.
When someone actively chooses to act in a way that is so dangerous that death is a likely outcome, the depraved indifference to human life is essentially treated as intent to kill. The classic example would be choosing not to recall a tainted batch of medicine in order to maintain profits.
This would certainly qualify for the rule.
Great point, thank you!
It’s how they got Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. They couldn’t prove that he planned to kill him, but they were able to show that he intentionally acted in a way that was potentially lethal and was so indifferent to the consequences that it elevated it past an accident to an intentional assault resulting in death (murder).
If George Floyd had had a heart attack from the stress of being arrested and Chauvin had tried to provide medical aid and filed, it would have been a tragic accident. Instead he intentionally retrained him in a known dangerous manner and refused to provide or allow for medical care when it was clear that Floyd was suffering a medical emergency. That’s murder.
Except this is Texas. Nobody expects actual justice there.
As a Texan, I can say there’s very little we take more seriously than working air conditioning.
Oh I know. I lived in Arizona. But I also saw how much working air conditioning the sheriff’s office gave inmates. We gave that guy the boot a while ago now so hopefully it’s better but I hold little hope. And I’m willing to bet Texas has the same inmate sized loophole to caring.
Paramedic ftw. Thanks for what you do and the bs you put up with 🙏