Incarcerated Texans describe conditions in prison following Hurricane Beryl.
James Guevara has ridden out three hurricanes sheltered in-place in Texas prisons. Hurricane Beryl, which blew into Texas on July 8, knocked out power at the prison where he lives, among several other Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities. The lights went off at Ramsey, a maximum-security prison in Brazoria County where Guevara lives, around 3 a.m. about an hour before the storm hit in earnest.
Two days later, portable generators had been brought in and industrial-sized fans provided some relief from the heat and dried the remaining dampness. Guevara was grateful for the fans, as “No one slept very well the last few nights because of the heat. I can see it wearing everyone down. Tonight should be easier.”
Julio Padilla, housed at the Terrell Unit, a medium security prison co-located with Ramsey in Brazoria County, said the prison building is sturdy, and he felt safe sheltering in place. The “extreme conditions,” he said, were in the steamy days without power that followed. Padilla said power was restored around 11 p.m. on July 17, nine days after the storm.
Hernandez, the TDCJ spokesperson, said the agency typically uses prisoners’ tablets to communicate, but in emergencies like hurricanes, sometimes the tablets aren’t usable. In those cases, she said, each prison’s officers and warden decide how to handle communication with prisoners. Men at the Memorial Unit, the Terrell Unit, and the Ramsey Unit all said prisoners were largely left in the dark.
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