Don't Release the Hounds

I'm with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on this one -  overcrowding in a prison is not cruel and unusual punishment, and we shouldn't release more than 40,000 prisoners just because they have long lines at the gym.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1360186

In my opinion,  overcrowding is not cruel and unusual punishment mainly because it's not prescribed as part of the punishment - it's a result of a great many number of people committing crimes and the state not having enough money to keep them all around in first-class quarters.  I've never been to prison so I only know what I read and what I see in movies - and specifically movies that just happen to have a scene or two in a prison and aren't specifically about prisons - and what I think I know is that most prison cells house 4 inmates or less. Is that true? Let's double it. 8 inmates or less.

I've lived in Army barracks where rooms house 12 soldiers in a space just barely large enough to hold 6  bunk beds, one locker per soldier, and standing room between them.  And I've lived in Army barracks that are open bays, housing 40 or more soldiers in a room similarly arranged. Sometimes that bay was actually a large tent.  Where 80 soldiers share one bathroom with 4 stalls and 4 sinks.

So I don't feel particularly bad for prisoners who live in similar conditions. I work for a living, they hurt someone else AND are getting a free ride from the state.

Speaking of Antonin Scalia - I read his background on wikipedia and I agree with most of his opinions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Scalia