Editorial: Protest Shows Need for Better Prison Health Care

A San Jose Mercury News editorial states that the ongoing hunger strike at Pelican Bay prison should be considered "a wake-up call to expedite changes" outlined in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling calling for California to reduce its prison population. The editorial continues that California "has a moral and legal obligation to avoid cruel and unusual punishment," adding that the state prison system "is already afoul of that admonition because of poor health care and overcrowding."

• "California Needs To Improve Prison Conditions" (San Jose Mercury News, 7/19).