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FACT BRIEF

Do some Arizona prison facilities lack HVAC systems?

By Carmela Guaglianone
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YES

 Some Arizona prisons rely on evaporative cooling systems, or swamp coolers, to manage summer temperatures.

In 2023, Arizona’s Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry launched a plan to convert housing units in all nine state-run prisons from evaporative cooling to HVAC systems, but the conversions will take through at least 2026 to complete. Arizona also has six privately operated prisons, two of which appear on the conversion plan.

Extreme summer heat has been linked to an increase in deaths at state and private prisons alike over the past two decades. Temperatures in units without air conditioning can exceed 100 degrees.

This year, ADCRR implemented an extreme heat “safety strategy” that includes providing free ice for all people in prison, offering misting stations and other “cooling areas,” and relaxing rules about inmate wardrobes.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Arizona’s Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry Facilities HVAC Conversion Plan (2024)
Arizona’s Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry Extreme Heat Safety and Relief Strategy
Arizona’s Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry Extreme Heat Safety and Relief Strategy Update 06.13.24
Arizona’s Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry ADCRR Prisons
PLOS ONE Heat-related mortality in U.S. state and private prisons: A case-crossover analysis
Mother Jones Arizona Officials Allegedly Covered Up How Hot It Got in Some State Prisons – Mother Jones
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Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.