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Prisoners' Rights To Physical And Mental Health Care: A Modern Expansion Of The Eight Amendment's Cruel And Unusual Punishment Clause , Stuart Klein

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article addresses the need for appropriate mental health care in the prison system. Applying the eighth amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause, the article outlines the current system for medical care and psychological programs within jails and prisons. Focusing on the deficiencies of medical care, the article proposes adding support to the modernization of mental health care by recognizing that the eighth amendment applies not just to the terms of imprisonment but to the availability of care.