Court Opinion

ID: 9693971
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 17:14:03.299812+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:53.316867
License: Public Domain

ZAPPALA, Justice,
dissenting.
While I agree with the legal analysis employed by the Majority Opinion with regard to the proper standard involved in adjudging whether the overcrowding of a prison amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, I must dissent. *473The basis of my dissent is the propriety of remanding this matter to the Court of Common Pleas. As the Majority aptly sets forth, this case has been in litigation for over fourteen years. In that time a more than ample record has been produced from which we can evaluate and determine a constitutional violation. My review of the record indicates that although a constitutional violation may have been present at the inception of this litigation, as the matter now stands, it is clear that the conditions of the prison system do not reach constitutional infirmity. Accordingly, I see no basis or necessity for remanding this matter for further proceedings.