Thousands of inmates in NC prisons withstand heat waves with no air conditioning
During this week’s heat wave, inmates in prisons across North Carolina face sweltering heat with no air conditioning.
More than one in five of the state’s prison beds, 21%, still do not have air conditioning, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections website.
That’s a double-digit drop from a year ago, when 34% of beds were in spaces without air conditioning. And almost all prisons either have air conditioning systems or have installation projects in progress. Johnston and Lincoln correctional institutions are the only prisons in North Carolina that have made no progress towards installation, according to the state’s data.
An extreme heat watch is in effect through Wednesday evening.
The prison system is two years into its three-year project to install air conditioning units in all state prisons. Renovations have been underway since 2023, after the General Assembly appropriated $30 million for the project in 2021. The project has since received additional funding from other donors, increasing the budget to $92.7 million, according to Keith Acree, a spokesperson for the Department of Adult Corrections.
Before the project, 63% of beds had air conditioning. Now, that number has grown to 79%.
According to the DAC website, the following 10 prisons are currently undergoing the installation process:
- Brown Creek Correctional Institution - Polkton
- Columbus Correctional Institution - Whiteville
- Craven Correctional Institution - Craven County
- Franklin Correctional Center - Franklin County
- Harnett Correctional Institution - Lillington
- Lumberton Correctional Institution - Lumberton
- North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW) - Raleigh
- Warren Correctional Institution - Warren County
- Craggy Correctional Institution - Woodfin
- Tyrrell Prison Work Farm - Columbia
“The NC Department of Adult Correction recognizes that heat can be a serious health and safety issue for everyone — our staff and the people in our custody alike — and we do all we can to keep people comfortable in hot weather,” Acree wrote to The N&O in an email.
According to the DAC’s 2025 Heat Stress Plan, prisons that don’t have air conditioning implement methods to cool off like using fans, deploying coolers with ice water, adjusting program activities, which can include limiting recreational time outdoors, and improving air flow.
But that’s not enough, said Kristie Puckett, a senior project manager and lobbyist at advocacy group Forward Justice.
“There’s no substitute for air conditioning,” she said.
Impacts of no air conditioning
Puckett said she advocates for incarcerated individuals who suffer from extreme heat because exposure can lead to “more adverse health conditions” and even unruly behavior.
“[Prisons] are quick to respond to what they call ‘safety breaches’ or ‘security breaches.’ And they’re quick to respond to when someone is fighting or there’s violence. But they are slow to respond to the conditions that breed that violence,” Puckett said.
According to the World Health Organization, extreme heat exposure can “exacerbate underlying illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, asthma, and can increase the risk of accidents and transmission of some infectious diseases.”
Lane White, 71, who was incarcerated in the North Carolina Corrections Institute for Women in Raleigh in 2019, said that facing the extreme heat took a physical and mental toll on her.
“It’s like you’re being tortured,” White said in an interview with The N&O. “And then seeing people falling out and people having seizures . . . mentally, it was crazy.”
White recalls the medic being frequently called during the hot months. To keep cool, White and other inmates would wet their clothes in the shower before going to bed in an effort to stay cool.
Karen Garner, who was also incarcerated in NCCIW in Raleigh in 2021, said that the air flow in her dorm was poor because of the way the beds and lockers were placed against some of the windows.
“If anything was said about the heat, we were told to ‘stop burning energy with complaints,’” Garner wrote to The N&O in an email.
All state prisons in North Carolina are expected to be fully retrofitted with air conditioning systems by 2026.
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM.
