Case 4:14-Cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 1
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Case 4:14-cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 1 of 101 United States District Court Southern District of Texas ENTERED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT July 19, 2017 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS David J. Bradley, Clerk HOUSTON DIVISION KEITH COLE, et al, § § Plaintiffs, § VS. § CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:14-CV-1698 § BRYAN COLLIER, et al, § § Defendants. § MEMORANDUM AND OPINION SETTING OUT FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3 I. Findings of Fact ........................................................................................................................4 A. Procedural Background ..................................................................................................4 1. The Plaintiff Classes ...............................................................................................5 2. The First Preliminary Injunction ..............................................................................6 B. The Evidence in the Record ............................................................................................7 1. The Parties ..............................................................................................................7 2. The Wallace Pack Unit ...........................................................................................8 3. The Fact Witnesses ................................................................................................10 4. The Expert Witnesses ...........................................................................................16 5. Overview of the Factual Issues ..............................................................................20 C. The Outdoor and Indoor Heat Index at the Pack Unit ..................................................22 D. The Effects of Heat on the Human Body .....................................................................26 1. The Effects of Heat on an Individual with Comorbidities ....................................32 2. The Effects of Heat on an Individual Taking Certain Medications ......................35 3. The Effects of Heat on an Individual with Multiple Comorbidities and/or Who Takes Certain Medications ................................................................37 4. The Heat Index Threshold for Heat Illness ...........................................................39 1 Case 4:14-cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 2 of 101 E. Conditions in TDCJ Facilities, Including the Pack Unit, Prior to 2013........................42 F. Heat-Related Deaths and Illnesses in TDCJ Facilities ..................................................43 G. The Current Conditions in the Pack Unit ......................................................................45 1. Heat Mitigation Measures ......................................................................................45 2. Heat Wave/Extreme Temperature Policy .............................................................67 3. Heat-Related Illnesses in the Pack Unit .................................................................70 H. The Proposed Remedies ................................................................................................72 1. Air Conditioning ....................................................................................................73 a. The Effectiveness of Air Conditioning .........................................................73 b. Pre-Existing Air Conditioned Beds Within TDCJ ........................................74 c. Medical Providers’ Inability to Recommend Air Conditioned Housing ......75 d. The Installation and Cost of Air Conditioning at the Pack Unit ...................77 2. Window Screens ....................................................................................................79 3. Creation of a Heat Wave Policy for the Pack Unit ................................................81 4. Other Remedies ......................................................................................................81 II. Conclusions of Law ................................................................................................................82 A. The Legal Standard .......................................................................................................82 B. Likelihood of Success on the Merits ............................................................................83 1. The Constitutional Requirements .........................................................................83 2. Conditions of Confinement that Violate the Eighth Amendment ..........................83 a. Substantial Risk of Serious Injury or Death ..................................................83 b. Deliberate Indifference .................................................................................86 C. Irreparable Injury ..........................................................................................................91 D. Balancing the Harms ....................................................................................................92 E. The Public Interest ........................................................................................................93 F. Bond .............................................................................................................................94 III. Remedy ..................................................................................................................................94 IV. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................99 2 Case 4:14-cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 3 of 101 Introduction Plaintiffs in this class action request relief from conditions in a state prison. In turning to this subject, the Court is acutely aware of both the limitations of its own competence, and the importance of ensuring that constitutional treatment is accorded one of society’s most discrete and disenfranchised minorities. In a perfect world, the safety and good health of prisoners would be assured by Solomonic men and women who had simultaneous expertise in the corrections industry, construction, safety engineering, medicine, and law. In the world we inhabit, however, judges are asked to make judgments and enforce decisions because courts are, in our government’s architecture, where individuals and institutions bring constitutional issues. The task is one that any court must approach with the utmost humility. Still, the fact that a case is difficult does not lead to the conclusion that a decision should be avoided. The immediate issue is whether a preliminary injunction should be entered to redress conditions that are alleged to create an unconstitutional risk of heat-related illnesses at the Wallace Pack Unit, a prison operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ”). Although no heat-related deaths have been reported at the Pack Unit, at least 23 men have died because of heat at TDCJ facilities from 1998 to today. For reasons that will be set forth, the Court does find that a preliminary injunction should issue to ensure that prisoners at the Pack Unit are not deprived of their Eighth Amendment right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. 3 Case 4:14-cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 4 of 101 I. Findings of Fact A. Procedural Background Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on June 19, 2014. Docket Entry No. 1. Initially, Plaintiffs consisted of four men—David Bailey, Marvin Yates, Keith Cole and Nicholas Diaz— incarcerated at the Pack Unit. The Pack Unit is a Type-I Geriatric prison, which means it is a single-level facility with wheelchair accommodations. Id. at 2-3; Docket Entry No. 326 at 12. The Pack Unit is owned and operated by TDCJ. Docket Entry No. 326 at 12. Plaintiffs have sued Defendants Bryan Collier, the Executive Director of TDCJ, and Robert Herrera, the warden of the Pack Unit, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the conditions of confinement in the Pack Unit violate Plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment right to be safe from conditions of confinement that cause a substantial risk of serious injury or death. Docket Entry No. 629 at 42-43. A smaller subset of the plaintiffs—those who claim to have a disability—also alleges that TDCJ is violating its right to be reasonably accommodated under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Rehabilitation Act (“RA”). Id. at 43-45. Plaintiffs moved for class certification, and in May 2016, the Court held a four-day evidentiary hearing. On June 14, 2016, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, certifying a general class and two subclasses. Docket Entry No. 473. Around the same time, Plaintiffs also moved for a preliminary injunction requiring the Pack Unit to provide safe drinking water, to adopt a formal policy to address the dangers of heat waves, to monitor regularly the temperatures inside the Pack Unit, and to amend its policy regarding respite areas— locations that prisoners can go to for relief from the heat. Docket Entry No. 434. The Court considered evidence on the Motion during the four-day evidentiary hearing. On June 21, 2016, the Court entered a preliminary injunction ordering the Pack Unit to provide water that 4 Case 4:14-cv-01698 Document 737 Filed on 07/19/17 in TXSD Page 5 of 101 conformed to the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”)