LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Problems with air conditioning systems have been a constant issue at some Kentucky prisons and jails, said a few people who are incarcerated and an advocate.
The Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women dealt with AC woes last summer. A woman detained at KCIW shared her experience with Spectrum News 1 in Aug. 2024.
“We’re all burning up,” she said. “They won’t do nothing for us.”
They went days without air conditioning before it got fixed.
A statement from a spokesperson with the Department of Corrections said, “All Kentucky state prisons, including the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, have working AC. On Aug. 6, the vendor was able to repair the AC in the main building annex of the female prison and since that time the AC and heat have been working properly.”
However, some people who are incarcerated said AC problems at some Kentucky prisons have been a persistent issue in years past.
“It's been an issue throughout my 20 or more years of being in prison and stuff, of air conditioners just breaking,” said Mark Fields, who is detained at Green River Correctional Complex.
He said there haven’t been AC problems during his time there but noted a few other facilities he has been where it was a problem.
“Northpoint (Northpoint Training Center), Eastern (Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex), KSR (Kentucky State Reformatory) … just about every place I've been to, this has been a thing,” Fields said.
Lottie Tanner, an incarcerated families facilitator with Advocacy Based on Lived Experience, said she's well-aware of problems with AC in Kentucky prisons.
“Every year that I have been involved in advocacy, which is about four or five years now, there has always been an issue,” Tanner said. “KCIW, it seems to happen more often than other facilities, but it does happen statewide.”
Jason Watts, who has been at the Kentucky State Penitentiary for about three years, said extreme heat at the facility is a concern and has been a problem every year.
“A lot of us ... we would strip down to our boxers and learn how to sleep on concrete because it was cooler, and we ball up a shirt or something for a pillow,” Watts said. “It’s the only thing we would sleep on.”
Watts added winters at the institution are difficult as well and is starting to feel apprehensive about summer approaching.
“Now everybody's regretting that it is starting to get warm out because we know how bad it's going to be here in the summertime,” Watts said.“Now everybody's regretting that it is starting to get warm out because we know how bad it's going to be here in the summertime,” Watts said.
According to a Lexington Herald-Leader article from last year, the Clark County Detention Center also had to repair its system.
In a statement sent to Spectrum News 1, Clark County Judge-Executive Les Yates said, "The HVAC system in the county jail was replaced a few months ago. It is up and running great.”
While overcrowding is not much of an issue with state prisons, it is a problem with county jails. If there are AC outages, then overcrowding can exacerbate the hot conditions for people who are incarcerated.
