Texas prison inmate allergic to wool has been trying to get a cotton blanket for 10 years

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is fighting inmate Calvin Weaver's 10-year request for a blanket that doesn't cause "itching, open sores, and sleep deprivation resulting in hypertension and anxiety" according to a lawsuit Weaver has filed against the TDCJ.

From Reason:

Weaver's suit named five people as defendants: the warden of his unit, a unit supervisor, the executive director of the TDCJ, a medical doctor employed by the agency, and a manager at a prison unit medical practice. The warden and the executive director cannot be sued, Hoyt says, but the three other employees can, because Weaver claims they knew he had complained about his medical reaction to the blanket yet either ignored him or denied his requests for relief.

"Under the liberal reading required on a motion to dismiss, these allegations are sufficient to state a claim for deliberate indifference to Weaver's serious medical needs," Hoyt writes. Weaver cannot sue them for monetary damage in their official capacities as TDCJ employees, though he can seek damages "in their individual capacities."

It's hard to understand why prison officials would be so opposed to granting a man's simple request of a cotton blanket

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