gave the example of a mentally ill inmate who was denied medication and severely beaten by other inmates.
In another example, an inmate with a history of mental health problems and previous suicide attempts discovered his girlfriend had ended their relationship and, on the same afternoon, that a close relative had died.
In Cyprus, for example, an inmate must happen to be out of prison on the day of the elections, and in Slovakia, prisoners can legally vote but no provision is made to allow them to do so.
For example, an inmate in a Californian prison costs about $47,000 a year to keep.
With states across the country gradually embracing criminal justice reforms, California serves as an example of how former inmates can remain trapped in the system.
Ms. Karten said the case was an early example of "an institutionalized culture" in the jails in which "guards would basically empower the inmates to take action to enforce the discipline".
Some examples of inmate ventures that have been successful are the printing press, the workshops, the bakery (which employs 150 people), and a couple of concrete block-making businesses.
The daily cost of housing an inmate is about $210.
This week also provided a stinging example of that violence when three inmates were killed and 14 injured on Wednesday night in the Topo Chico prison in northern Mexico.
For example, upon arriving in a concentration camp, an inmate might intellectually deliberate about the odds of successfully escaping.
