How is this not a violation of the 8th Amendment? The government took away many of their rights and threw them in prison, the very least the government should take care of them (nutrition, shelter, and the necessary medical care to ensure that they can serve their sentences). At the very least, this violates basic human rights.

But I guess this is what happens when we view prison as punitive punishment for the sake of punishment, and not for the sake of correcting their behavior (for the lack of the proper term that has escaped me).