Posted: November 19th, 2022
What are the Rights of Criminals and Prisoners?
Criminal Justice class
What are the Rights of Criminals and Prisoners?
Do criminals have too many rights or are the rights of the accused being trampled by the police and prosecutors? Once in prison, should inmates be afforded the same rights as free-world citizens? This debate cuts deeply into both sides of the Due Process and Crime Control models. Make your arguments for both sides. Where is the tipping point for individual rights and the pursuit of justice? If we afford certain rights for the ‘worst of the worst’, what does that say about our own rights?
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Notes:
Prisoners have the right to be confined in non-cruel and unusual conditions. This means that they must be fed, housed, clothed, and medically cared for in a reasonable manner. They have few other options. While penal servitude deprives inmates of many constitutional rights that are available to nonprisoners, custodians have an obligation not to limit privileges or freedoms that are rights for others unless required by custodial or legitimate punitive exigencies. As a result, prisoners should be allowed to work as well as engage in reasonable exercise and recreation. Their right to privacy should be respected to the greatest extent possible, and safeguards should be put in place to prevent abuses of power by both prison personnel and other inmates. Our prisons are not correctional facilities; rather, they are punitive facilities. They do not, contrary to popular belief, either rehabilitate or harden criminal dispositions. In all likelihood, providing a structured environment, discipline, and reasonable work under reasonable conditions is the best thing that can be done to help prisoners, their victims, and taxpayers.