Heat wave in US turns Texas prisons into 'ovens' July 08 2023 at 05:52AM

On the afternoon of July 4, as Americans were celebrating the country's independence with elaborate fireworks displays, a prisoner named Joseph Martire passed out in his cell in Texas, amid the excessive heat that has been swamping much of the southern United States in recent days. In concrete, brick and metal penitentiaries, industrial fans churn warm vapor without really cooling the air.