1968)[1] was a case decided in 1968 on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States by then-judge Harry Blackmun.

The issue in the case was how to apply the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment to the conditions within a prison.

[2] Arkansas rules authorized prison officials to beat inmates with a five-foot leather strap known as a "bull hide.

"[3] An earlier suit had resulted in a decision permitting the use of the strap, provided that "appropriate safeguards" were in place.

[5] In pre-opinion writings, Blackmun wrote that constitutional standards evolve, as opposed to remaining static; he noted that nearly every state had abandoned corporal punishment in prison.