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Carceral heat exposure as harmful design: An integrative model for understanding the health impacts of heat on incarcerated people in the United States

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  • Brunn, Karina
  • Toledo, Olivia
  • Tran, Chelsea Chau
  • Vasudevan, Ashwin
  • Venkat, Bharat Jayram

Abstract

In an era of climate change-driven weather events, extreme heat has become the most lethal form of “natural disaster” in the United States. However, its negative consequences are unequally distributed. Incarceration exacerbates vulnerability to heat-related illnesses and deaths. This article reviews and synthesizes a range of literature related to carceral heat exposure to characterize the complex biological, social, infrastructural, financial, and legal mechanisms through which incarcerated people experience heat-related illnesses and deaths. These mechanisms include the location, design, and construction of carceral facilities; structural racism and poverty that lead to the overrepresentation of specific populations within the carceral system; comorbid conditions amongst incarcerated people; the use of medication as a form of control; barriers to medical care; institutional neglect; and the weaponization of heat as a tactic of retaliation. This article also reviews the patchwork regulatory apparatus related to carceral heat exposure, legal efforts to improve protections for incarcerated people, and obstacles to implementing those protections.

Suggested Citation

  • Brunn, Karina & Toledo, Olivia & Tran, Chelsea Chau & Vasudevan, Ashwin & Venkat, Bharat Jayram, 2025. "Carceral heat exposure as harmful design: An integrative model for understanding the health impacts of heat on incarcerated people in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:367:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625000085
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117679
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    2. Cascade Tuholske & Victoria D. Lynch & Raenita Spriggs & Yoonjung Ahn & Colin Raymond & Anne E. Nigra & Robbie M. Parks, 2024. "Hazardous heat exposure among incarcerated people in the United States," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 394-398, April.
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