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.
“The DOC found six Monroe Correctional Complex inmates, three of whom died, suffered under negligent care by the center’s head doctor, as The Times’ Jim Brunner reported. While Dr. Julia Barnett has been fired for misconduct and investigators are working to determine if she bears responsibility for four additional inmate deaths there, the agency must undertake broader reforms.“
Seattle Times
July 23, 2019
Read More“They did some digging on the DOC website last Friday and found a memo that had been posted over two weeks ago. The memo implies that "used publications" are a security risk and that the DOC is "moving away from allowing used publications to enter our correction facilities." The exceptions are books accepted by the Washington State Library, or, for incarcerated students, books approved through their school's official bookstore.“
The Stranger
April 1, 2019
Read More“Reform rarely happens without accountability, yet accountability for jail deaths is rare. When it does happen, it’s the result of a lawsuit, local government investigation or — rarest of all — a federal investigation. Two jails are going through that process now.“
The Virginian-Pilot
December 13, 2018
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