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Austin: University of Texas, Austin, School of Law Publications, Inc
Erscheinungsjahr
2022
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
Nexis Uni
Beschreibungen/Notizen
Although the general public may heed the advice of local and federal officials to reduce risks to their health and safety in the face of extreme weather events, incarcerated individuals do not share this liberty. About 2.3 million incarcerated Americans rely on prison officials to ensure their access to food, water, reasonable safety, clothing, power, and medication before, during, and after a disaster. Climate change has elevated the degree of risk posed to this population by extreme weather events, which are occurring with increased frequency and severity. These changing patterns result in the imposition of undue risk of imminent harm to incarcerated people held in facilities without sufficient risk mitigation strategies. The law must evolve to address this enhanced threat and protect the constitutional rights of this vulnerable population. The Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause imposes an affirmative duty on prison officials to eliminate prison conditions which pose a substantial risk of serious harm to a person's health and safety. This Note proposes that federal courts should extend the current Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, which mandates that prison officials must take risk-reduction measures in certain contexts-like extreme cell temperatures, fire safety, food deprivation, and exposure to secondhand smoke-to protect an incarcerated person's access to adequate food, water, power, and medication before, during, and after a natural disaster.