The inmates' attorneys disagree, and they're urging U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson to reconsider requiring air conditioning on death row. Jackson said 14 state inmates in Texas died of heat-related causes between 2007 and 2015. James Hilburn, an attorney for the state, said "air conditioning is the only way that building can be climate controlled." Louisiana's prisons chief said Wednesday that the state's refusal to install air conditioning on death row isn't politically motivated, even though a lawsuit over the facility's dangerous heat levels has already cost taxpayers more than $1 million. A plaintiffs' expert has estimated it would cost about $225,000 — not including engineering fees or operating costs — to install air conditioning on death row's six tiers.

Source: ABC News June 15, 2016 08:41 UTC