Justice Department says that punishing homeless for sleeping outside is 'cruel and unusual'

A small legal case in Boise, Idaho, could have big implications in cities across the country: Last week, the Department of Justice determined that Boise's laws against sleeping or camping in public places were unconstitutional, The Washington Post reports. From the DOJ's filing:

Prosecuting public sleeping, then, the Justice Department argues, constitutes a "cruel and unusual punishment," and is in violation of the 8th amendment.

"Homelessness never left town because somebody gave it a ticket," Eric Tars, a senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, told The Washington Post. "The only way to end homelessness is to make sure everybody has access to affordable, decent housing."

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Thirty-four percent of 187 cities surveyed by NLCHP last year had laws banning camping in public, while 43 percent prohibited sleeping in vehicles and 53 percent prevented people from sitting or lying down in particular public spaces. On an average night, there are 153,000 unsheltered homeless in the United States.