Hell, as we think of it is this fiery pit of souls set ablaze in the afterlife, but what if I told you we have a real Hell, right here in Louisiana. 37 minutes. That’s how long I was able to bear the Louisiana heat in my car, turned off, with the windows rolled up. These conditions are comparable to those that inmates in LA State Prisons face everyday. Those who are in solitary confinement have to beat the heat for 22 hours. Out of all of LA’s 8 state prisons, each with about a dozen or so inmate dorms, only SEVEN dorms have central Air Conditioning.

Most cells don’t have windows, and most dorms have poor circulation. This is cruel and unusual punishment that is being inflicted upon prisoners. Although some may be locked up for heinous crimes, they are still human and have rights. If you disagree, go into your car on a hot day and see how long you can last it in there. It is torturous. The day by day cycle of cruel heat and punishment that the prisoners are being forced into reminds me of slave masters punishing their slaves in sweat boxes. Humans are thermally uncomfortable at temps above 75 degrees. It was 106 in my car.

There is a spike in prisoner self-harm in LA prisons during the summer months. These inmates inflict damage on themselves just to get out of their cell and into the air-conditioned medical rooms. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_a222bb3e-7d92-11e9-bf1d-57767ce4f72d.html

Louisiana’s most populated prison, Angola, 70% of the 6,800 inmates are Black. This is also a part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.