Prisoners Rights

Some basic prisoner’s rights are: freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to communicate, and the right to medical treatment. Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment falls under the eight amendment. This right is tricky because there are different definitions of what falls under the category of “cruel and unusual”. For an act to be considered cruel and unusual it is usually thought to be inhuman with no doubt about it.

The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights are most notable for their protection of the rights of suspected and accused individuals. All to often we forget it also covers the rights of those persons convicted of a crime. There are two positions when it comes the rights of convicted and imprisoned persons, which are rights-are-retained and rights-are-lost. In retrospect, they are both right because prisoners rights may not be granted rights nor shall rights be withheld that are not supported by law. Therefore, prisoners are given Conditional Rights because they are constrained by the legitimate needs of imprisonment. The Conditional Rights of inmates are communication and vision, religious freedom, access to the courts and legal assistance,

The court concluded that the seized of his belongs indeed violated his constitutional rights. The decision made it clear that any evidence obtained during an illegal search and seizure would not be allowed in court. (The Oyez Project, 2014)

1) What were the legal issues in this case? What did the appeals court decide?

The most valued documents in modern American society tend also to be the most heavily debated. For instance, interpretations of the United States Constitution tend to be rooted in one of two firmly entrenched beliefs;while the first camp believes it to be set in stone, the second his convinced that the United States Constitution is by nature a perpetually evolving document, meant to reflect the desires and needs of the people. Even amongst those in the same camp, disagreements abound; those believing that the Constitution is set in stone are divided on issues such as the eighth amendment’s prohibition of ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. It is difficult to reach a consensus on what, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. For example, the concept of waterboarding is championed by many as a ‘humane’ form of torture which causes no physical harm. However, it was deemed a cruel and unusual punishment due to the sensations of drowning and symptoms of mental illness which it produced in its victims. It can therefore be inferred that physical injury is not the only factor to be considered in whether or not a practice is to be deemed inhumane; factors such as mental wellbeing and fitness of punishment must also be considered. This leads one to ponder how the concept of solitary confinement could possibly even be considered when it so clearly violates the protections which the eighth amendment provides.

The Joseph Hurtado v. People of California case (110 U.S 516) began on January 22, 1884 and was decided on March , 1884, was between the plaintiff, Joseph Hurtado, and the defendant, California. Hurtado appealed against the conviction proclaiming that he was not indicted by a grand jury based on due process in the Fourth Amendment. The question presented was, “To what principle, then, are we to resort to ascertain whether this process, enacted by congress, is due process?” The amendments that being trialed was the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment.

A landmark case in United States Law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States,

According to the article titled “Do Inmates Have Rights? If So, What Are They?”, “every inmate has the right to be free under the Eighth Amendment from inhumane treatment or anything considered “cruel and inhumane”. They should have this right because not all of them deserve to be treated poorly or be put somewhere inhumane.

Equalizing the constitutional rights of prisoners and the functions of the jail or prison can create great strain on not only the correctional facilities’ staff but on the inmates as well. The treatment of prisoners is typically left completely to the prudence of prison administrators and other correctional officials. With that being said, this paper will discuss the differences between harmonizing those constitutional rights of prisoners and the functions of the facility. It will also explain the rights that prisoners are required to have, and how these rights are balanced within other aspects of the correctional institution.

A prison warden is the chief executive of the institution and oversees the entire operation within a prison system. A prison warden needs to possess an array of skills that is capable of managing “large groups of employees, and to operate facilities in a way that keeps inmates, staff, and society safe” (Clear et al., 2013, p. 321). Studies from Clear et al. (2013) further indicate that today’s prison warden must function effectively despite decreased autonomy and increased accountability” (p. 321). The role and responsibility of a prison warden are comparable to a police chief’s because it requires extensive knowledge in administration, and experience in various areas within the department or institution.

My essay is about a murderer in jail goes to the ER because another inmate attacked him. It is ethical for the murderer to be treated in the ER because everyone has a right to health care. It doesn’t matter if he was had a murder streak, armed robbery etc. every living person has a right to be treated from the smallest thing like streptococcus pneumoniae to heart transplant. It is also under The Rights For Inmates stating “Inmates are entitled to medical care and attention as needed to treat both short-term conditions and long-term illnesses. The medical care provided must be adequate." It is legal because no one can be denied health care. Personally i think it’s right because a person shouldn’t have a label when it comes down to health care

The ethical theory of utilitarianism and the perspective on relativism, of prison labor along with the relativism on criminal behavior of individuals incarcerated are two issues that need to be addressed. Does the utilitarianism of prisoner’s right laws actually protect them? Or are the unethical actions of the international and states right laws exploiting the prison labor? Unethical procedures that impact incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, the relativism of respect as people and not just prisoner’s; the safety of all inmates and correctional staff, are all issues worth continuous reflection.

A violent act occurs in prison, rendering the only option available: segregation. Segregation places an inmate away from general population, in isolation. Usually, these individuals will spend up to twenty-three hours alone in a room, with a minimum requirement of one hour physical activity. Correctional officers utilize these rooms to protect themselves, and other inmates, from imminent danger. Evidence based literature shows that, when segregation is used, it can lead to depression, anxiety, and PTSD. A person with a mental illness can suffer worsening symptoms while segregated. When does segregation, used not only as a punitive action, but also as a safety measure, go against basic human rights? The ministry of community

There are not many people living in North Alabama who have not heard of Farron Barksdale. Farron Barksdale died in an Alabama prison shortly after transfer from a county jail. Barksdale was mentally ill and found guilty to killing a police officer.

With due regard to the placement of prison across countries, it was found that majority of countries’ Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Interior were responsible for prisons. In one country both ministries were responsible while in two countries a special Ministry for Prisons and Correctional Services had this responsibility. The relevance of this is the implications it has on the protection of prisoners’ rights. It is thought that these rights are better protected under the Ministry of Justice. It was also found that while some of the countries had updated some of the legislation dealing with prisons, 11 countries are still using legislation that dates back to the 1970s as far back as the 1950s. This means that these countries are operating without the benefit of modern penal practice requirements, and may not have included in their legislation guidelines such as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and other legal instruments, both universal and regional. Other areas covered included number of staff proportional to number of prisoners and this was found to be 1:3 or less in six countries, and 1: 15 or more in two countries, with most countries averaging 1: 4-6 members of staff to prisoners. The imprisonment levels vary from country to country but the prison population rate tends to be higher in southern African countries and lowest in Central African and West Africa. The average population rate was found to be 119 prisoners