There are no national standards for prison conditions in the US, but some improvements have been made through court cases. The Commission on Safety and Abuse in American Prisons recommended better conditions and oversight committees, but progress has been slow. Holt v. Sarver was a landmark case that established prisoners’ rights. The Prisoner Litigation Reform Act made it harder for inmates to bring lawsuits.
There are no established national standards for prison conditions in the United States. Some serious violations of prisoners’ rights have been prosecuted in the courts and conditions have improved in recent decades. However, attempts to impose national standards on the national correctional system have failed.
The national prison system encompasses an enormous variety of sizes, levels of security and institutional cultures. Not all prisons are state-owned: many are owned by private contractors. Only a few states, such as Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York, have state commissions that regulate prison conditions. Other states, such as California, have legal organizations dedicated to representing prisoners in abuse cases.
In 2005, a group of professors, corrections officers, psychologists, and political leaders formed the Commission on Safety and Abuse in American Prisons to study conditions in correctional facilities across the country. They found that data on prison violence and sexual abuse is chronically underreported. The commission issued recommendations to improve standards for prison conditions, including better medical care, more and better trained prison officers, and changing the prison culture to one of optimism. They also recommended establishing an oversight committee in each state to regulate and standardize prison conditions. While the commission has provoked debate in some states, the council’s broader mission has fallen short with state governments running out of cases.
An important case that advanced the concept of prisoners’ rights was the Holt v. Sarver from 1969 and 1970. The Cummins Farm Unit, located near Little Rock, Arkansas, was notorious for its racially segregated conditions and long periods of isolation. The guards did little to protect the detainees from the fighting which often broke out in the cramped conditions. In 1969, the inmates took their complaints to a judge, who ordered Cummins Farm to improve its condition.
Despite the ruling, inmate complaints continued, and the judge reopened the case in 1970. In Holt v. Sarver II, the court ruled that Cummins Farm Unit conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishments as prohibited by the 8th and 15th amendments. A commission ensured that Cummins Farm improved its condition.
Following the Holt v. Sarver, the courts have been inundated with lawsuits from disaffected inmates about the unsafe conditions in their prisons. In 1996, Congress passed the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act, which made it more difficult for inmates to bring lawsuits. Prisoners must first file their complaints with the highest levels of authority within the prison. The “three strikes” rule states that if an inmate presents three cases that the judge deems willful or unnecessary, that inmate is prohibited from making further appeals.
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