Cite as: 511 U. S. 825 (1994)
Blackmun, J., concurring
ley, 444 U. S. 394, 423 (1980) (Blackmun, J., dissenting). The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who, like petitioner, are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure. See Note, Rape in Prison and AIDS: A Challenge for the Eighth Amendment Framework of Wilson v. Seiter, 44 Stan. L. Rev. 1541, 1545 (1992). Unable to fend for himself without the protection of prison officials, the victim finds himself at the mercy of larger, stronger, and ruthless inmates. Although formally sentenced to a term of incarceration, many inmates discover that their punishment, even for nonviolent offenses like credit card fraud or tax evasion, degenerates into a reign of terror unmitigated by the protection supposedly afforded by prison officials.*
The fact that our prisons are badly overcrowded and understaffed may well explain many of the shortcomings of our penal systems. But our Constitution sets minimal standards governing the administration of punishment in this country, see Rhodes, 452 U. S., at 347, and thus it is no answer to the complaints of the brutalized inmate that the re-*Numerous court opinions document the pervasive violence among inmates in our state and federal prisons. See, e. g., United States v. Bailey, 444 U. S. 394, 421 (1980) (Blackmun, J., dissenting); McGill v. Duckworth, 944 F. 2d 344, 348 (CA7 1991), cert. denied, 503 U. S. 907 (1992); Redman v. County of San Diego, 942 F. 2d 1435 (CA9 1991) (en banc), cert. denied, 502 U. S. 1074 (1992); Hassine v. Jeffes, 846 F. 2d 169, 172 (CA3 1988); Alberti v. Klevenhagen, 790 F. 2d 1220, 1222 (CA5), clarified, 799 F. 2d 992 (CA5 1986); Jones v. Diamond, 636 F. 2d 1364, 1372 (CA5 1981), overruled on other grounds, 790 F. 2d 1174 (CA5 1986); Withers v. Levine, 615 F. 2d 158, 161 (CA4), cert. denied, 449 U. S. 849 (1980); Little v. Walker, 552 F. 2d 193, 194 (CA7 1977), cert. denied, 435 U. S. 932 (1978); Holt v. Sarver, 442 F. 2d 304, 308 (CA8 1971), later proceeding sub nom. Hutto v. Finney, 437 U. S. 678 (1978).
853
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