At least 8 inmates have suffered heat-related incidents at state prison in Yuma

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — Extreme heat is raising concerns at Arizona state prisons.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry confirmed that since June, at least eight inmates have experienced heat emergencies at the prison in Yuma.

Two of them had to be sent to the hospital.

Arizona’s Family has received complaints from inmates about people passing out due to heat exposure.

Complaints say inmates do not have access to cold water, ice, and no air conditioning in housing units and transportation vans.

Brenda Aguilar has a son who is serving time at the Yuma prison.

He’s been there for two years and said this summer has been unbearable.

“They’re incarcerated serving their time, but these guys don’t want to die there. They want to come home. They don’t want to suffer a heart attack because of heat exhaustion,” said Aguilar.

Aguilar’s son is housed in the La Paz Unit in Yuma.

It’s one of the units with air conditioning, but complaints were received about the air conditioning not being turned on or not working at the facility.

The same was said for transportation vans used to transport inmates.

“He’s seen the guys get off the van. They’re soaking, their shirts are soaked and one fell down, passed out,” said Aguilar.

Corene Kendrick, a lawyer with the ACLU Prison Project, said they’ve been trying to address some of these concerns for years.

Kendrick has been working on a 12-year lawsuit over the quality of health care in Arizona prisons.

During her investigations, she said they’ve come across some of the same complaints mentioned.

In April, Kendrick took a team to get a look inside the Yuma prison.

They checked transportation vans as well as the housing units.

She said at the time the air conditioning in the vans was working.

“The problem in Yuma is that they have two units that all they have are swamp coolers. During the monsoon season in Arizona, a swamp cooler is useless,” she said.

She said inadequate transportation was also an issue for inmates with medical conditions.

“There are very few medical specialists in Yuma who will see incarcerated people,” she said.

Kendrick said most inmates with chronic illnesses have to be transported to bigger cities like Phoenix and Tucson, which can be a three to four-hour car ride.

“The concern we heard was that they were not provided water, or bathroom breaks. The reality is some of these inmates with medical conditions should probably not be held at a prison in Yuma that is far away from some of these medical resources they need,” said Kendrick.

Arizona’s Family reached out to the ADCRR about these specific concerns.

They said not only do they have working air conditioning in all vans, but they also provide bottled or iced water to inmates during transport and are working to add air conditioning to all their prison units statewide.

Kendrick confirmed Arizona state prisons are actively working to install air conditioning in housing units, but said funding was an issue.

“In June, the Legislature, when they reached the budget, zeroed out the money that was supposed to go to future projects to install air conditioning,” said Kendrick.

The ADCRR’s “air conditioning installation plan” shows two of their five units in Yuma don’t have air conditioning.

Statewide, 21 of their 51 units, which is about 28% of their housing units, don’t have air conditioning.

Eleven are getting installed right now, according to ADCRR’s latest update.

It’s unclear what the average summer temperatures are in cells without air conditioning.

There’s also no firm date for the two housing units without air conditioning to get air conditioning installed.

Kendrick said the best way to have these issues addressed is to file a complaint with the state Department of Corrections with the Inmate Family and Friends Liaison for questions or concerns regarding an incarcerated friend or family member by calling (866) 333-2039 or emailing them at IFFLiaison@azcorrections.gov.

People can also reach out to the ACLU for any legal advice by calling (212) 549-2500.

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