Rights And Legal Issues

Rights and Legal Issues

Your Name

Institution

Question 1:

Which Amendment in the Bill of Rights do you feel is the most important with regard to the rights of incarcerated individuals? Explain your reasoning.

The first amendment in the bill of rights regarding the right to freedom of religion is one of the most important amendments for the prisoners. By the order of the supreme court, the prison authorities should provide incarcerated individuals with opportunities to practice religion CITATION TRC00 \l 1033 (TR Clear, 2000). In an independent state, everyone shall have an equal right to practice their religion. And I think the same rule to practice religion should apply to prison as well. A prisoner belonging to any religion can be a victim, there are many complaints about Muslim inmates who are forced to eat pork which is prohibited in their religion. Similarly, Christian inmates complain that they are not allowed to preach. Unless it is not hurting anyone, a person should be allowed to practice his/ her religion.

Question 2:

What major issues exist with regard to the legality of corrections programs? Explain.

There are many issues regarding the legality of correction programs. Poor mental healthcare is one of the many major issues that prisoner faces. When the prisoner is in pain, warden or CO of the facility should not just say that I am not a doctor and walk away. The safety and the well-being of the prisoners should be the responsibility of prison officials CITATION BAW12 \l 1033 (BA Williams, 2012). Prison does have a physician, but no specialist. Most prison does not have psychiatrists or therapists. In my understanding, prison is the facility where a mental health professional is much needed.

Question 3:

Do you feel that prisoners should be allowed recreational programs? Why or why not?

Prisoners should be allowed recreational programs, as it will improve their quality of life. Recreational programs not only help in reducing the idle time of the prisoners but also improve their quality of life. No recreational program will add to the discomfort of prisoners. Although prisoners are not free citizens, their quality of life should be lowered to those of free people. According to the prison's standard, a recreational program can include exercise, outdoor recreation, and even celebration.

Question 4:

Do you feel that prisoners should be allowed various types of luxuries such as television, reading materials, and so on? Why or why not?

Yes, the prisoners should be allowed to have access to television, reading material, and even the internet. I don't think a television with a censored channel are luxuries. Similarly, book and newspaper are also not a luxury. There should also be a movie night in prison. But material which is provided by these luxury items should be controlled. The movie, television, and book should be violent. Moreover, there should be controlled internet access for the prisoners in prison libraries. Similar to books and television, internet usage should be limited to learning only. As long as the data provided does not bring harm to anyone by any mean, it should be allowed for the prisoners.

Question 5:

What do you think constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in a correctional environment? Explain.

There is a reason why prisons are called correction facilities. A badly treated prison will be back in our society. No cruel punishment can fix a person's action or behavior. A punishment that inflicts humiliation, pain, and suffering is considered cruel and unusual CITATION JBo90 \l 1033 (J Bonta, 1990). There are many stories of cruel punishment within the correction facilities; tied up with broken toilet pipes, cold baths, solitary confinement, and many more. A prisoner should be treated as a human being and no cruel punishment should be acceptable in the correction facility

Question 6:

How do you feel about the medical care provided to prisoners? Explain.

Prisoners are provided with poor medical care. Sick inmates are left untreated unless their condition becomes critical. A prisoner is prone to get mentally ill and develop a psychotic disorder. But in most prisons, there are no mental health professionals available. In most prisons, there is only one physician for 500 to 1000 inmates. The constitution gives the right of health to the citizen and even the prisoners. Cases of prisoner’s death due to poor health or punishment are very common.

Question 7:

Should there be any restrictions? Why or why not?

Yes, there should be restrictions on prisoners. As there is a big issue of drug usage in a prison, there should be a restriction of mail in prison. There should also be a restriction on violent reading material as it mentally affects the prisoners. Prisons official should ban the books which violent and threatening. Similarly, if the prison is providing its inmates with facilities such as television and phone calls, there should be a proper restriction on their usage. These restrictions will ensure the safety of other inmates and also the safety of prison guards and wardens.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY BA Williams, J. G. (2012, May 29). Addressing the aging crisis in US criminal justice health care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.03962.x

J Bonta, P. G. (1990). Reexamining the cruel and unusual punishment of prison life. Law and Human Behavior. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-02594-001

TR Clear, P. H. (2000, Feb 1). The value of religion in prison: An inmate perspective. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1043986200016001004