Multimedia and Web Resources

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Video

Cruel and Unusual -- transgender and in prison
Women, transgender women such as Ashley, Linda, Anna, Yolanda and Ophelia, are incarcerated in men's prisons across the U.S. from Wyoming to New Jersey and Florida. Denied medical and psychological treatment, victims of rape and violence, the documentary Cruel and Unusual asks if the punishment for their crime is indeed cruel and unusual?

Divided High Court Orders Calif. to Ease Overcrowding in Prisons
The high court ruled 5-4 Monday that the packed living conditions in California prisons violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The National Law Journal's Marcia Coyle explains.

Audio

Do Heat-Sensitive Inmates Have A Right To Air Conditioning?
Inmate dormitories at Louisiana State Penitentiary, like this one photographed in July 2011, have heating in the winter and cooling by fans and open windows in the summer, but no air conditioning. A judge ruled earlier this year that that constituted cruel and unusual punishment, but installation is on hold pending a state appeal.

Bill Of Rights Series: The Eighth Amendment
Join Ray Suarez as Talk of the Nation continues its series on the Bill of Rights with a discussion of the Eighth Amendment and its four famous words: "cruel and unusual punishment." Ray will talk with a woman who is serving a life sentence in prison for her very first offense and one of the first to be sentenced to life for drugs in Michigan. He'll also talk with his panel of experts issues such as prison overcrowding, chain gangs, and the death penalty

Prison Rape Law A Decade Old, But Most States Not In Compliance
In a recent survey, the vast majority of states said they will try to comply with federal rules. But several others, led by Texas, have protested to the Justice Department. Texas Gov. Rick Perry says following federal standards for the Prison Rape Elimination Act is too burdensome for states.

Web Resource