As summer heat continues, is Oregon doing enough for people in solitary confinement?

While the Department of Corrections says it has established plans for extreme heat events, prison rights advocates contend that state corrections officials should be doing more to help people in prison remain cool. They say that’s particularly the case when it comes to the more than 480 people who are in some form of solitary confinement as of July 1, according to state data, some of whom are in facilities that lack air conditioning. 

The push to combat the heat people in solitary confinement face has taken on new urgency in the wake of a recent lawsuit over the practice supported by the Portland-based Oregon Justice Resource Center. The plaintiffs in that case argue that the state’s reliance on solitary confinement violates the Oregon Constitution’s ban on “harsh, degrading, or dehumanizing treatment of prisoners.” 

Alice Lundell, a spokesperson for the center, stressed that people in solitary confinement have few options to distract themselves from the heat. She urged Oregon officials to find more ways to protect incarcerated people from the heat as climate change continues to intensify, suggesting the state audit should be a wake up call for improving prison conditions.

“The majority of the population in prison don’t have access to air conditioning or have limited ways of cooling down, including access to cool and clean hydration. This tends to be even more of a problem for people in solitary confinement because they are much more restricted than people in general population,” she said in a statement. “A person in solitary cannot move to a cooler area and is unlikely to have access to personal property such as a fan.” 

Oregon Department of Corrections says response varies by prison

Betty Bernt, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, acknowledged that several units for solitary confinement lack air conditioning and require fans and “other appropriate measures” to keep temperatures regulated. 

But she said that the state’s largest prison, Ontario-based Snake River Correctional Institute, which often houses people in solitary confinement, has air conditioning with established procedures for maintenance, as well as a “Physical Plant” team for maintenance.

“If staff notice a problem with any (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) unit, they notify the physical plant immediately, and HVAC staff respond as quickly as possible,” she wrote in an email. “In addition, HVAC staff conduct weekly tours of the special housing units to monitor for ongoing issues and address any concerns proactively.”

Two other facilities with air conditioned units are the Pendleton-based Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution and the Umatilla-based Two Rivers Correctional Institution.

But the Salem-based Oregon State Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison that primarily houses young men, lacks air conditioning, and solitary units have high-volume industrial fans to increase airflow which are positioned to move hot air away from the cell. Staff open doors, windows or vents during cooler parts of the day to improve ventilation. Prisoners receive electrolyte drinks and there are window shades, according to Bernt. 

Oregon’s only women’s prison, the Wilsonville-based Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, does not have air conditioning. It runs on swamp coolers, which use a fan and water-soaked pads to allow the process of water evaporation to cool hotter air. 

The facility’s solitary confinement units are not exposed to the same amount of light in the late afternoon as the prison’s general population, so it faces less concerns when it comes to high temperatures, according to the corrections department. 

Oregonians interested in state correctional responses to the heat can submit questions and learn more on the Department of Corrections’ Ambient Heat Plan site.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE