A federal judge's rebuke of Texas housing prisoners in lockups without air conditioning stopped short of ordering a fix before summer in what has become of the country's biggest lawsuits over keeping prisoners safe during dangerous extreme heat.

Judge Robert Pitman says inmates who sued the state could win their case but that the fix is not easy or cheap.

A federal judge found the extreme heat in Texas prisons is “plainly unconstitutional,” but did not order the state to begin installing air conditioners. While U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman