> But by this same line, that the government's actions should be measured and limited. Prison should not be cruel, nor should the punishments be unusual.

Fully agreed, which is why I make the point that air conditioning isn't a question, of course a prison in Texas should have air conditioning. The 8th Amendment makes this pretty clear, that cruel and unusual punishments are disallowed, as they should be. The punishment is and should be the prison sentence itself.