Even if an inmate's sentence is not oppressively long, their treatment while incarcerated can still constitute subhuman treatment. Prisons are not medical facilities, but they regularly are forced to deal with mental health problems and care for elderly and terminally ill inmates. Food, if it's even edible, usually lacks enough nutrition for inmates' health to not deteriorate. Plus, with a lack of opportunities to see family, read, or gain skill sets, inmates are placed in buildings which lack any resemblance of the civilized world.
“"We also know that people suffering a mental health issue are likely to be in jail longer than the average arrestee," Fuller said, "which puts them in a system that is not specifically designed for their mental health issues. It's designed for criminal justice."“
CBS 3 West Michigan
August 19, 2019
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