A federal judge has ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide air conditioning in every Texas prison by the end of 2029, a ruling that Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance is calling a landmark decision for incarcerated people across the state.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued the order Sept. 22 in Lioness v. Lumpkin, requiring Texas prisons to be air conditioned by Dec. 31, 2029.

The case was brought with the involvement of Lioness, an organization founded and led by currently and formerly incarcerated women and gender-expansive people. The organization grew out of organizing efforts by women inside Texas prisons and continued that work after they returned home.

Lioness said its work on both sides of the prison walls allowed incarcerated members to have their case heard alongside those advocating from outside, challenging prison conditions that have exposed people across Texas to extreme heat.

The ruling is particularly significant for people who remain incarcerated and continue to face Texas summers without air conditioning. Lioness Director of Communications Marci Marie Simmons testified in the case after surviving 10 Texas summers while incarcerated without air conditioning.

For Simmons and the organization, the ruling represents more than a court order. It is also a message to people still inside Texas prisons that conditions can change and that their experiences can lead to action.

Lioness said the decision offers hope to incarcerated people while placing responsibility on the state to implement the court’s order and move forward with protections against extreme heat.

The organization also credited the formerly incarcerated women and transgender people who organized around prison conditions and helped bring the case forward.