But U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s warnings to Texas to act after finding the conditions in the prison system unconstitutional could resonate elsewhere in the U.S. where similar challenges are ongoing, according to attorneys leading the Texas case and other prisoner advocates.

Texas is just one of several states, mostly in the South, facing lawsuits over prison conditions when temperatures often rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius). In Louisiana, a group of men incarcerated at a state penitentiary this week again asked a federal judge to take steps to protect prisoners doing outdoor agricultural labor in dangerous heat.