Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Prison Overcrowding: A Comprehensive Evaluation Tool For Early Release, Thomas Stasa

Honors Projects

Prison overcrowding has become a topic of national conversation over the last decade. Numerous court cases have come to fruition because of the poor living conditions experienced by inmates while incarcerated. Prior court cases, such as Estelle v. Gamble (1976) and Brennan v. Farmer (1994), have ruled that inmates must be afforded the constitutional rights established under the Eighth Amendment while incarcerated. Recent court cases, including Plata v. Brown (2011), have affirmed inmates’ claims that current prison conditions are a violation of these constitutional rights. To correct these violations, prisons must reduce their populations below a court established maximum. This …