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"A majority of Missouri counties have jails that are antiquated and inadequate for modern law enforcement needs. 93 out of 114 Missouri counties are third-class, meaning they don't have a tax base to build modern jails. Yet several of these third-class counties have first-class crime: drug convictions and violent offenders that fill small county jails beyond capacity. To save money, many of Missouri's third-class counties stockpile prisoners. In some jails, four to six inmates are crowded in cells meant to house two men... Many of these inmates have not been convicted of any crime and await trial. They claim "cruel and unusual punishment" for the jail conditions they must endure before their court date... Just about every third-class county in Missouri has been hit with class-action lawsuits from inmates regarding jail conditions..."