Cruel and Unusual Punishment | The Marshall Project

What are records? Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the criminal justice conversation. The Marshall Project does not endorse the viewpoints or vouch for the accuracy of reports other than its own.

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These States Are Debating Castration for Sex Crimes. Experts Call It Cruel and Pointless.

Critics say there’s no evidence that castration prevents future sex offenses. Yet several states are weighing such measures.

Closing Argument • 06.21.2025

This Supreme Court Case on Homelessness May Limit Prisoner Rights and Expand Executions

In Grants Pass v. Johnson, a town in Oregon asks the court to reconsider what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Analysis • 04.10.2024

A Filthy New Orleans Jail Made My Son Sick. The ‘Cruel and Unusual’ Medical Treatment at Angola Prison Killed Him.

This spring, a judge ruled that the healthcare at the Louisiana State Penitentiary violated prisoners’ Eighth Amendment rights. Lois Ratcliff tells the horrifying story of her son Farrell’s decline and death.

Life Inside • 07.29.2021

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