Flawed processes, unlawful detentions, and dire conditions in South Sudan’s prisons reflect the urgent need to improve the new nation’s fledgling justice system. Human Rights Watch investigated and documented violations of due process rights, patterns of wrongful deprivation of liberty, and the harsh, unacceptable prison conditions in which detainees live. Through interviews with 250 inmates and a range of officials and officers, researchers found that a third of South Sudan's prison population has not been convicted of any offense or have been detained for long periods while waiting for their case to be processed. Many detainees have no legal representation and South Sudan has no functioning legal aid system. Prison conditions are grim and infrastructure is rudimentary, damaged and unhygienic. Inmates lack sufficient ventilation, do not get enough to eat and prison water is in short supply. Many are also vulnerable to illness and disease, which they rarely receive proper care, unless they can pay for medicine themselves. Ten inmates died in Aweil prison and at least five died in Bentiu prison in 2011 alone, most of treatable illnesses.