GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Next summer should be cooler for women at ASPC-Perryville, the state women's prison in Goodyear.
Arizona’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry released a new report this month on its HVAC Conversion Plan, which now states that all occupied housing units at Perryville have air conditioning.
That was not the case when the 12News I-Team first started reporting on concerns back in summer 2023.
At the time, several incarcerated women and their loved ones were complaining about hot prison cells. The units impacted the most were Lumley and Santa Cruz, which were being cooled by ineffective swamp coolers, rather than air conditioners.
Our investigation found that some cells were as hot as 109 degrees that summer which led to the prison warden stepping down. The I-Team uncovered that the heat not only took a toll on inmates, but also impacted the health and safety of corrections officers.
Temperature logs obtained by the 12News I-Team showed that some of the men's prisons across the state also had issues with extreme heat.
Some of the state prisons already have units with air-conditioning, but the new HVAC Conversion Plan report, dated November 15, shows the progress being made with installing A/C statewide.
Our reporting found that upgrades to the Lumley Unit at Perryville were completed just before summer, while the Santa Cruz Unit was finished more recently. The report says that two unoccupied units at Perryville are also set to be converted.
The report also states that construction is currently underway for units without A/C at ASPC-Eyman, ASPC-Tucson and ASPC-Safford.
Units at the prisons in Yuma, Lewis, Douglas, Kingman and Phoenix as well as the Pima County Reentry Center are also listed for conversion projects "pending funding."
Construction is slated to continue through fiscal year 2026.
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