08/25/2026
Written by an inmate in a Texas prison:
True Honor
It is 103°F in my dorm this evening. Not outside. Not in direct sunlight. It is 103°F inside my living area where I am currently sitting on my bunk. When the humidity is factored in (a common practice in Texas known as the Heat Index – what the temperature actually feels like on your skin), we have a feels-like temperature of 110°F. It feels like I am sitting in an oven. My fan is blowing an unceasing flow of extremely hot air onto my body in a seemingly-futile attempt to stay as cool as possible. Other places in the prison are even hotter! It is really hard to imagine.
Most of the Texas population has no idea that there is no air-conditioning in the State’s prison. I’m not sure how many would claim to care if they did know.
But the ultimate irony is that there is air-conditioning in this prison. It is just not where the human beings actually live. It is about 7:00 PM as I write this, and several locations all around me are comfortably cool. The classification department and Inmate Records. The Wardens' offices and Human Resources.
The Mental Health Department and the Disciplinary offices. All of these areas are staying very cool this evening.
But the crazy thing is that there is no one in there. The empty spaces seem to have a higher value than the actual humans living around them.
Within a couple of hours the Infirmary, the Chapel, and the Education Department will also close. There are also offices of all types sprinkled throughout the unit in the industries and vocational trade areas. All of these will continue to be filled with life-saving cool air, while over two thousand men and officers suffer in tonight’s extreme heat.
Every summer is like this. Measures are taken to try to reduce the risk of heart-related illnesses and deaths, but putting A/C in Texas prisons would probably be met with protests around the State. No matter how much Jesus reached out and touched "the least of these", or claimed to not have come for the healthy, but for the sick, Texas – a very Christian state – still hasn’t learned what that example looks like when applied to the situations in its own backyard.
As a prisoner, I have been blown-away by some of the amazing men I have met in prison. I never dreamed I would ever have anyone to talk to when I was sent here over 13 years ago, but no way would I have believed the life-long friends I would make in this place. I have traveled the world over, and in many cases the men I have met here outshine all others. These are not just fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands (and often grandfathers), but they are also amazing men of God who, although with more tattoos than your average preacher, live out a true and deep Godly life in conditions in which most people wouldn’t survive.
It was in these conditions that I learned about true honor.
Jesus displayed it throughout the gospels. Paul often displayed it with his captors. John showed it to the world around him till the very end.
Honor is not reserved for those who deserve it. The first thing many people say when we speak of the difficult conditions of prisons in Texas is: "They’re criminals. They deserve whatever is happening to them."
This is true. Prisons are full of criminals. Statistically, they also have a good amount of innocent people. But certainly they are full of fathers. They are full of uncles. They are full of mothers and sisters.
How a society treats those it deems as the worst among it does not merely speak to a strong sense of being tough on crime. It actually speaks to the character of those who make up the society itself
What I learned from Jesus’ example was that he didn’t treat the people around Him with honor because they deserved it. They were often prostitutes and thieves and sinners of the worst kind. They hadn’t done anything that should have attracted the attention of the King of the Universe. Yet He treated them with honor anyway.
In my effort to live my life according to Jesus’ example, I have decided that I no longer treat people with honor because they are somehow deserving of it. Now I treat all people with honor because I am honorable.
How I treat others, no matter their situation is not a reflection of them. It is a reflection of me.
