A chilling description of life in a Texas prison:

Life in a Texas prison is death by a thousand cuts. J. is smart, educated, repentant, and highly motivated to get out and rebuild some kind of life for herself. She has to use every possible resource she has, mental and physical, to avoid being beaten, raped, or harmed in some way. This is a startling new reality for her, but in spite of how terrible that sounds, her biggest fear is of the guards. This is a privately operated prison in a small town. The guards make slightly above minimum wage, and in many cases, are just a step or two away from prison themselves. They are angry, resentful, and have terrible power to punish.

While segregation from the rest of society is clearly prescribed for many acts, it goes without saying that barbarity is uncalled for. In a country where most state programs are suffering for lack of funding, prisoners are pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to outlays.