7). .
Prisoners are committing crimes at alarmingly higher rates and not only are rewarded in the prison system through "punishments," but now can sue because of overcrowding and deficiencies in prison health care. In California, the courts mandated a prison population limit to remedy the violation of prisoners' constitutional rights. The ethical issues are cruel and unusual punishment. This means that violent offenders, such as murderers and rapist can complain about sleeping in cramped quarters with hundreds of other criminals. They also complain about not receiving sufficient dental care. In the state of California, officials are dealing with a catch and release scenario. A decade ago, the state instituted mandates that increased sentencing for repeat offenders. Longer sentencing reduced money for rehabilitation programs, such as work training and education therefore most ex-offenders return to prison for parole violations. Currently, the state of California is in the process of releasing 10,000 inmates convicted of serious crimes by the end of this year; 30,000 inmates released in the next two years. .
These changes are taking place because lawmakers expressed disapproval of the overcrowded prisons' inability to provide the minimal health care to its prisoner with severe medical conditions. According to them, overcrowded prisons have caused "needless suffering and death" to the prisoner's lack of mental and medical care. Inmates were forced to sleep in a gymnasium and usually bunked together side-by-side in telephone booth sized accommodations with no toilets nearby (Liptak). Cruel and unusual punishment as defined by the law is as punishment that would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the common law or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community (Encyclopedia).
