In a recent Vox report, writer Roxanna Asagarian delves into the troubling phenomenon of incarcerated individuals struggling to stay warm in their cells as temperatures drop throughout the winter season. Reaction from the public over the issue seems to be split with regards to how this inmate comfort should be handled. 

Considering that prisons are often designed with the intention to deprive personal comfort in any sense, the issue of individuals being deprived of warmth isn’t unexpected. 

Asagarian reports, "Because the US system of prisons and jails is so vast — including 50 state prison systems, the federal prison system, and nearly 3,000 jurisdictions that include cities, counties, and Indian reservations — and because there are no federally mandated laws on temperature control, American prisoners are exposed to a wide range of conditions. Even at the state and local levels, there are few laws around this, leaving incarcerated people at the mercy of the courts to implement protections for them. And if the courts won't provide these rights, incarcerated people have to rely on the goodwill and donations of concerned citizens to stay warm through the winter."

However, complains over a lack of personal comfort in prison facilities isn't a new development. Numerous reports from states like Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania have showcased the growing issues these individuals must endure during the cold winter months and the hot summer days. Even though the Federal Bureau of Prisons operation manual includes temperature guidelines for inmates, as the Vox report makes clear, there are still gray areas within the rules and how they should be carried out at the state and local levels.