Response to Andrew Cook

I agree that many prison conditions of the past were a violation of the Eighth
Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment and conditions. Isolation, overcrowding,
poor sanitation, poor temperature and air quality, lack of exercise and food are all conditions
that are cruel and, therefore, prohibited. As you have mentioned, the Newgate Prison
certainly violated the Eighth Amendment by keeping prisoners in poorly ventilated rooms,
with little to no light and fresh air. The prisoners were also not provided with medical care
and often worked in hazardous conditions (Hanser, 2017). With regards to the Arkansas
Prison system, its harsh and inhumane punishments were clearly a violation of the Eighth
Amendment. However, I wish you would have highlighted more the conditions in those
prisons. I feel that you focused more on the punishment.

References

Hanser, R. D. (2017). Introduction to corrections. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Reply to Meghan Hicks Schargen

I agree that prison conditions have been evolving for the better over time. However,
current prison conditions still need to improve in order to fulfill the requirements of the
Eighth Amendment. Conditions such as isolation and denial of mental health care can be
considered cruel (Coppola, 2019). Overcrowding, poor air quality, and lack of adequate time
for exercising are also cruel conditions that need to be improved on. I think if prisons adopted
the model advocated by William Penn of treating prisoners humanely, they are likely to
quickly achieve the goals of the Eighth Amendment.

References

Coppola, F. (2019). The brain in solitude: an (other) eighth amendment challenge to solitary
confinement. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 6(1), 184-225.