Two state legislators toured one of Delaware's prisons on Monday and came away asking questions. That's as it should be.

More needs to be learned about the state of health care in the prisons. A series of articles by News Journal reporters last month showed that the prison health system is seriously flawed and that inmates have needlessly suffered because of the poor quality of care.

So far, state officials have defended the current practices. But more needs to be done.

First, someone from outside the system must examine health care conditions. Second, that examiner must have the experience and knowledge to look at medical care records, to interview inmates and guards, and to observe routines. Finally, the investigator's findings must be made public so that the state can move forward on correcting what is wrong.

The prison tour by Rep. Hazel Plant and Sen. Charles Copeland is a good start. They asked good questions. We hope they pursue the answers.

But tours by legislators are not enough. An outside investigator must be called in.