Welcome
Texas Prisons Community Advocates (TPCA) works to end inhumane prison conditions, strengthen support for incarcerated people and their families, and advance a justice system that respects the humanity of every person.
Whether you're a family member, advocate, policymaker, researcher, or simply someone who believes every person deserves dignity,
we're glad you're here.
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Keep scrolling to learn about our key issues, or explore favorite pages:
The Problem
Texas has built one of the largest incarceration systems in the world.
We're ALL affected.
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Nearly 95% of incarcerated people will return home. The conditions they experience inside Texas prisons shape the health, safety, and well-being of the communities they return to.
What happens inside prison walls doesn't stay there.
Mass incarceration affects families, taxpayers, correctional staff, public safety, and entire communities. Research increasingly shows that incarceration alone does not reduce crime, and, in many cases, can increase the likelihood of future offending.
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The cost is measured not only in dollars, but in fractured families, lost opportunities, and generations impacted by poverty, trauma, and incarceration.
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Our Priorities
TPCA fights to help changing inhumane carceral conditions.
For far too long the carceral system has been treating human beings as if they are not human. TPCA believes that no person should have to endure torturous heat, contaminated water, nutritiously lacking food, or medical indifference.
What are we doing about it? TPCA focuses on the issues that have the greatest impact on people's lives.
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Our work combines advocacy, public education, direct support, and policy change to improve conditions inside Texas prisons and build a more humane justice system.
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Priority areas of TPCA's focus include:
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Humane Prison Conditions
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Ending Harmful Practices
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Fair and Just Laws
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Compassionate Release
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Supporting Families
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Public Education & Advocacy
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Get Involved
Every action helps create change.
Whether you donate, advocate, volunteer, or share our work, you become part of a growing movement for a more humane justice system.
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Find your way to get involved →
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A Federal Court Ordered Air Conditioning in Every Texas Prison.
On September 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued a permanent injunction ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to install air conditioning in every Texas prison by December 31, 2029. The court found that the conditions inside un-air-conditioned units violate the Eighth Amendment rights of every person confined there, and ruled that cost is not a legitimate excuse for delay.
Nearly 90,000 people were held without air conditioning in Texas prisons this past summer, in a state where outdoor heat indexes near TDCJ units have reached as high as 134 degrees. The court found that TDCJ presented falsified temperature logs and underreported heat-related deaths to the Texas Legislature.
This victory belongs first to the families with an empty chair at their table, to every incarcerated person who spoke their truth while the system said they did not deserve to be heard, and to every advocate who refused to look away.
But this is not the finish line, and we cannot stop now.
TDCJ has already announced it will appeal. The 2029 deadline means more summers and more winters of exposure, and the ruling does not set an enforceable temperature standard, which means nothing in this order guarantees the units will be kept at a safe temperature once they are installed. Until Texas passes a law with real numbers and real accountability, people inside are still at risk.
We need you now more than ever.
The 90th Legislative Session opens January 12, 2027, and we will be at the Capitol asking for an enforceable standard of no lower than 65°F and no higher than an 85°F heat index. Call your legislators. Come to our events. Join the coalition. Watch your inbox for session week details. Share this ruling with everyone you know.
The court opened the door. It is on us to walk through it. Join us.
KEY ISSUES
Thousands of incarcerated Texans endure dangerous heat and cold each year in facilities without adequate climate control. Our 85 to Stay Alive campaign and coalition are working to end these inhumane conditions.
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TPCA believes that the practice of solitary confinement is morally wrong, mentally debilitating, social stunting and the use of it must be substantially reduced.
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Too many incarcerated individuals face delayed, inadequate, or inaccessible medical care, leaving serious health needs untreated and preventable suffering to continue.
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Allowing eligible people who are terminally ill or aging to return home preserves dignity, supports families, and reduces costly incarceration for low-risk individuals.
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Event Spotlight
Rio Grande Valley — 85 to Stay Alive Mock Cell and Prison conditions Exhibit Community Event
October 3, 2026
TPCA invites you to Harlingen Market Days for the 85 to Stay Alive: Mock Cell Event. This is an opportunity to step inside a replica prison cell and confront realities that are too often unseen.
Why it matters
Triple-digit temperatures have returned to Texas. For thousands of people incarcerated in Texas prisons, summer is more than uncomfortable — it can be deadly.
Approximately 90,000 people in Texas prisons lack adequate air conditioning, and internal temperatures can exceed 120°F.
Take the 7-Minute Challenge
Step inside the mock cell. See the visual exhibit.Learn what extreme heat, overcrowding, fear and isolation can mean for people living behind prison walls.
Address & Time
502 E Tyler Ave, Harlingen, TX 78550, USA
9:00am - 3 pm
Visit A Prison
Change starts with awareness. TPCA, in partnership with FAMM, is urging state and federal lawmakers to #VisitAPrison because they don't know until they go.
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Send an editable letter asking your elected officials to see Texas prison conditions firsthand. Add your personal story if you'd like, your voice can make an even greater impact.
After sending your letter, explore the Family Guide for more ways to support the campaign, encourage legislators to #VisitAPrison, and help drive meaningful change. Together, our voices are stronger.
