Conditions of confinement are cruel and unusual punishment because prison guards mistreat prisoners for no reason, some punishments are torturous, and solitary confinement can lead to insanity. In many prisons, guards beat prisoners for no other purpose than to amuse them. themselves. According to motherjones.com, "nearly one in ten prisoners are victims of sexual assault, about half of the time by prison staff." Another example is Keith Hudson, who was in a Louisiana prison and was beaten by Marvin Woods and Jack McMillian, two prison guards working at the prison. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court. The question was: "Must an inmate alleging that his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment be violated by excessive force demonstrate 'significant injury' to assert your complaint? » The Supreme Court said no. According to Judge Sandra Day O'Connor: “When prison officials use force in a malicious and sadistic manner to cause harm, contemporary standards of decency are always violated. This is true whether significant injuries are evident or not. Since Keith Hudson was beaten "maliciously and sadistically" with the intention of "causing harm", this shows the extent to which prison guards intentionally harm prisoners. In addition to guards harming prisoners, prisons also have security housing units (SHUs) that lock prisoners in solitary confinement. , driving them crazy. Edward Frias, a prisoner at Corcoran SHU Prison, said: “Being alone for so long, away from your family and being confined. Look where I am. I go from one cage to another. I feel like a dog. At Pelican Bay, a prison in California, there are 1,500 inmates in the SHU. They spend 22.5 hours a day in a 7-by-11-foot cell. The only time they're not in the middle of paper......" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, August 16, 2013. Web. March 30, 2014. Schwartzbach, Micah. " The Meaning of "Cruel and Unusual Punishment ""Nolo.com. Nolo, ndWeb. March 30, 2014. Agonito, Rosemary. "Cruel and Unusual Punishment Alive and Well as Prisoners on Hunger Strike." Web March 30, 2014. Cusac, Anne-Marie. “Torture, American Style.” The Huffington Post.com, April 28, 2014. Palta, Rina. – SecurityHousing Units (Photos) KPCC, October 8, 2013. Web. March 30, 2014. Ridgeway, James and Jean Casella. “America's 10 Worst Prisons: ADX.” Mother Jones MotherJones, May 8, 2013. Web, March 30, 2014. Hudson v. McMillian, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, April 4. 2014.