by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

“ The doctrine of civil conspiracy extends liability for a tort, here the deprivation of constitutional rights, to persons other than the actual wrongdoer, W. Prosser, The Law of Torts § 46 at 293 (4th ed. 1971) , but it is the acts causing damage to the plaintiff that give rise to liability for damages, not the conspiracy itself. "The damage for which recovery may be had in a civil action is not the conspiracy [*243] itself but the injury to the plaintiff produced by specific overt acts. ”

“ However, we confront a record and factual history of a sub-human environment in which individuals have been confined under the color of state law. The effort to make some amelioration of those conditions will simply not suffice. The fact that an individual has violated the criminal law, is generally uneducated and in poor health is no justification for inhumane treatment and brutality. Segregation from society and loss of one's liberty are the only punishment the law allows.
Affirmed in part and reversed in part; the cause is remanded to the district court with directions contained herein. ”

“ We need only repeat that inadequate resources cannot justify the imposition of constitutionally prohibited treatment. Even assuming qualified blacks cannot be found, we are not persuaded that an alternative such as establishing a program in which blacks could be trained until qualified is not viable.
On remand the district court should amend its decree to include an affirmative program directed toward the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. In doing so it should consider the standards now employed in the hiring and promotion of prison personnel. ”

“ The objective of prison education in its broadest sense should be the socialization of the inmates through varied impressional and expressional activities, with emphasis on individual inmate needs. The objective of this program shall be the return of these inmates to society with a more wholesome attitude toward living, with a desire to conduct themselves as good citizens and with the skill and knowledge which will give them a reasonable chance to maintain themselves and their dependents through honest labor. ”

“ A convict, however, does not lose all of his civil rights—for those that are fundamental follow him, with appropriate limitations, through the prison gate, and the walls do not foreclose his access to the courts to protect those rights. ”

“ The general rule as to punitive damages, repeatedly found in the reported cases, is that they may be imposed if a defendant has acted wilfully and in gross disregard for the rights of the complaining party. Since such damages are punitory and are assessed as an example and warning to others, they are not a favorite in law and are to be allowed only with caution and within narrow limits. ”

“ Lack of funds is not an acceptable excuse for unconstitutional conditions of incarceration. An immediate answer, if the state cannot otherwise resolve the problem of overcrowding, will be to transfer or release some inmates. The district court shall also satisfy itself that no additional prisoners will be confined at the Cummins Prison Farm if their confinement will result in continued overcrowding and perpetuation of conditions which fail to provide optimum safety and sanitation for every inmate. ”

“ Our examination of the record convinces us that the district court's findings are supported by appellant's own evidence and that such findings are in no sense clearly erroneous.
Appellant also complains of the district court's holding that he was not entitled to a hearing before an appropriate prison board of inquiry prior to being placed in solitary confinement or shortly thereafter. Judge Harris' interpretation of the prison rules designed to regulate the treatment of inmates persuaded him to conclude that appellant's misconduct did not necessitate a hearing. ”

“ Prisoners are frequently attacked and raped in the dormitories and injuries and deaths have resulted. Sleep and rest are seriously disrupted. No adequate means exist to protect the prisoners from assaults. There is no satisfactory means of keeping guns, knives and other weapons away from the prison population.
The reports filed by the Commissioner at the court's direction clearly confirm the findings of Eighth Amendment violations. We deem it unnecessary to go into any greater detail in discussing the substantial evidence supporting the court's findings. ”

“ The problem in any case is to arrive at a balance between the interests of the teacher, as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. ”

“ Conduct prohibited by official prison rules is freely engaged in.
We have discussed previously the departmental obligation to protect inmates against both physical and mental abuse by the correctional staff and other inmates. The continued infliction of physical abuse, as well as mental distress, degradation, and humiliation by correctional authorities demonstrates that mere words are no solution. Such unlawful conduct by correctional personnel is of major significance leading to this court's finding that the present correctional system in Arkansas is still unconstitutional. ”

“ Legislative appropriations are required to obtain funds needed for the correction of constitutional deficiencies. Time is needed to recruit and train qualified free world guards. Judge Henley, by way of directions to state officials, in his opinion states:
"If Respondents will move in good faith and with diligence in the areas of prison life just discussed, namely, the trusty system, the barracks system, inmate safety, and the isolation cells, the Court thinks that subsidiary problems will tend to take care of themselves. ”

“ At that time appellant had been released from solitary confinement and had been transferred to Tucker Farm, another penal institution in Arkansas.
The sole issue here is whether the court below was wrong in dismissing the claim for relief.
[*1187]
The law to be applied is well settled. Lawful incarceration necessarily operates to deprive a prisoner of certain rights and privileges he would otherwise enjoy in the free society, a retraction justified by considerations underlying our penal system. ”

“ The record establishes that Weeks and his assistant, Terry, jointly and individually acted to deprive Simpson of his civil rights. Terry was fully cognizant of Weeks' vendetta against Simpson and acted on his own initiative and in bad faith in several instances to further the conspiracy. The evidence that both Weeks and Terry acted in bad faith and with malice in depriving Simpson of his civil rights is strongly supported in the record. ”

“ The court reserved jurisdiction to take such further steps as may be appropriate to implement its determination that confinement in the Arkansas penitentiary system violates constitutional rights of the inmates in event the required reports are not made or prove unsatisfactory.
The respondents have taken this timely appeal from such judgment and decree. Respondents, as required by the court order, filed the April 1, 1970, report setting out the steps taken and contemplated to meet the constitutional violations. ”

“ As recently as 1969, fully 90 percent of the security force of the Arkansas prison system consisted of such inmate guards. They virtually ran the prison. They sold desirable jobs to other prisoners and trafficked in food, liquor and drugs. There was no way to protect prisoners from assaults if the trusty guards permitted them. Several months after the district court ordered abolition of the trusty system in Holt II, Commissioner Hutto reported:
The Trusty System of armed guards has not in fact been dismantled at either Cummins or Tucker. ”

“ Eighth Amendment violations form the basis for federal court intervention in the administration of a state prison. A factual showing of cruel and unusual punishment violative of the Eighth Amendment is a prerequisite. Jackson v. Bishop, supra; Sostre v. McGinnis, supra. In Sostre, Judge Kaufman aptly states:
"For a federal court, however, to place a punishment beyond the power of a state to impose on an inmate is a drastic interference with the state's free political and administrative processes. ”

“ It appears to the Court that the answer, however unpalatable it may be, is to eliminate the positions of long line rider and inmate pusher and to put each long line under the immediate charge of one or more free world people. ”

“ At Cummins the youths are housed either in solitary confinement for their own protection or placed in the general prison population. As Judge Henley observes, one could seriously question which is worse. Apparently, some such transfers have been completed quite summarily. The petitioners state that Tucker offers better conditions of confinement with greater possibilities for rehabilitation. They contend that any transfer to Cummins, since it amounts to a material change in their conditions of confinement, must be accompanied by procedures consistent with due process. ”

“ Petitioners in their amended complaint did not contest the validity of the imposed sentences which they are serving nor do they ask to be released from custody. No claim for money damages is made. The Commissioner of Corrections and the members of the Board of Corrections are made parties both in their official and individual capacities. Relief sought is to enjoin the respondents from inflicting punishment violative of the Eighth Amendment. ”

“ Living facilities, with the exception of the punitive segregation wing at Cummins, were integrated. Nonetheless, the court found that discrimination still pervaded other facets of prison life. Accordingly, the district court again enjoined racial discrimination in several particulars, including: (1) interference with Black Muslim religious practices; (2) segregation of prisoners in maximum security, and (3) discrimination in such areas as inmate classification, job assignments, privileges, personal appearance, disciplinary proceedings and punishments. ”

“ Armed Trusties are being used on the towers at both Tucker and Cummins and are used to guard outside work forces. This is done, however, under the direct supervision of a civilian supervisor, who is present at all times with the work forces. Trusties have been removed completely from any responsibility or authority regarding inmate job assignments, promotions and demotions, and all disciplinary matters are handled by free world personnel. ”

“ Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972) , the Supreme Court faced a case in which a prisoner's complaint had been dismissed without a hearing or findings. The Court said:
Federal courts sit not to supervise prisons but to enforce the constitutional rights of all "persons," including prisoners. We are not unmindful that prison officials must be accorded latitude in the administration of prison affairs, and that prisoners necessarily are subject to appropriate rules and regulations. ”

“ If prison officials have a valid interest in investigating potential visitors, obviously that interest may be protected by less intrusive means, such as the submission of a visitors' list. We are not persuaded that all correspondents need to be investigated on the chance that some may visit. It is equally unavailing to argue that some persons, because of their criminal reputation, have no business communicating with prisoners. ”