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.
“Meanwhile, the department implemented new regulations in June that increase the maximum time allowed in solitary from 90 days to a year. It also put levels of infractions in place, designed to connect the infraction and the punishment. For example, Level 1 allows up to 30 days in solitary for minor misconduct, while a person may be sentenced to up to a year in segregation for “major offenses,” such as homicide or sexual assault.“
Minnesota Public Radio
August 12, 2019
Read More“Since 1887, the paper has acted as a vehicle for criminal justice reform, an outlet for prisoners to air grievances and rally against injustices — both real and perceived. Over the last 132 years, contributors have covered labor strikes, deadly prison riots and technological advancement. Now, the longest continuously running prison newspaper in the United States is thriving among a dying breed of penal periodicals.“
Minnesota Star Tribune
July 15, 2019
Read More“‘It is extremely unusual for prison officials to even acknowledge the legitimacy of prisoner grievances, much less negotiate with them,’ Wright said. ‘The response is almost invariably one of repression and silencing and terrorization to dissuade others from standing up for themselves’.“
The Appeal
January 25, 2019
Read More"Inmates were confined to their cells for four days after the corrections officer was killed, with the exception of emergency medical needs, she said. Inmates are being allowed to shower every other day, up from one shower every three days earlier in the lockdown."
Minnesota Star Tribune
August 15, 2018
Read More