Preview

Ethical Treatment of Prisoners

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1101 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethical Treatment of Prisoners
Ethical Treatment of Prisoners

People in society today have rules, regulations, and guidelines to follow in order to maintain freedom, safety, structure, and self-discipline. If any of these rules are broken, there are consequences to follow. It depends on the severity of the crime on what type of punishment or consequence is given to an individual. If the crime is severe enough the individual may be deprived of their rights, freedom of movement, and sent to prison for a duration of time. If one is sent to prison then the ethical treatment of prisoner’s rights must be taking into consideration and analyzed. A prisoner/inmate is a person that has committed a criminal offence and depending on their criminal history he or she may be put on probation or confined to a county jail or state penitentiary. Once an individual gets behind those block walls their lives then tend to belong to the deputies, correctional officer or warden that is employed by that facility. Within the prison system there is a division of power that exists. This power can leave feelings of powerlessness and dependency in the prisoners. We all have heard stories of correction officers using their power of authority to abuse and psychologically harm the prisoner. For example a couple of months ago in the state that I live in there was an inmate who was locked up for a minor charge of failure to appear. He was waiting for his dinner this particular evening, and the deputy almost slammed the inmate finger in the door. Of course this escalade into a verbal altercation between the two, and from there a physical fight broke out. The deputy which outweighed the inmate by over 100 pounds picked up the inmate and slammed him on his head onto a concrete floor multiple times until the inmate was unconscious. The jailhouse officials rush this inmate to the hospital in which he went into a coma, and eventually was placed on life support. The family of this inmate

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    In part 3, Morris (2002, p.171) discusses why prison conditions matter and why penal reformers, including himself, have devoted their lives and travelled thousands of miles to other countries in search of answers to questions that would improve prison correction from what is corrupt or defective. Morris (2002, p.172) suggests human rights are relative to all human beings whether free or imprisoned and he considers prisons as a smaller community within the world. Thus, the infliction of unnecessary torture and pain cannot be justified and therefore must be prevented and eradicated.…

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    If the prisoner does not follow the rules than there time will be rough and they will spend a lot of time in solitary confinement. Prisoners in Ohio are treated fairly well they are clothed allowed to buy tennis shoes of their choice, have regular visits from family and friends that are approved by the prison they are given time for recreation and fed three times a day. Prisoners are also shown movies three times a week. To most people prison is not as bad as people make it out to be, yes you have some corrections officers that are in need of sensitivity training, but for the most part if you leave them alone they will leave you alone. Ohio uses a direct method of supervision which means that there is an officer on the cell block at all times. Kentucky uses an indirect method of supervision which means that corrections officers are used on more than one cell block or dormitory at one time. In a level 1 or 2 prison in Ohio corrections officers do not carry weapons of any type, if a fight breaks out or a riot occurs the officers than have the use of pepper spray. In a level 3 or higher prison corrections officers carry clubs or batons to help protect…

    • 2667 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kings of the Jungle A first-hand look of how the prison system works revealed to me that there is many flaws, unanswered questions, and things you just throw into the category of “not right”. Being no less than a cage away from anything ranging from, non-child support payers, public intoxication convicts to murders, and child molesters. Opened my eyes to these are still people who made mistakes, although, some may be emotionally disturbed in the end their still people.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In, “The Jail,” John Irwin describes what it is like for a criminal to initially be arrested and further processed into a prison. It is at this time that a person first experiences a complete loss of freedom. Before, they had choices and could do as they wished with their lives, whether it be positive or negative. Once under arrested, these people have arguably less rights than slaves did hundreds of years prior. They have to be told when to sit, stand, where to walk, and when they can eat. I do not want to be misunderstand and say that this is always a bad thing. These measures are sometimes necessary in order to control and manage people who have not been able to abide by society’s laws.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter 11 of Corrections in America, the author explains the organization and basic functions of state prisons. This chapter outlines the state prison system. The author also explains the classification and assignment process in state prisons, the impact that politics and government policy have on corrections, and the impact that budgets have on correctional facility. Most institutions are short on money and personnel, and their environments are isolated both physically and philosophically from the mainstream of life. The modern prison system is proceeding on an uncertain course because of its administration.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Should prisoners serving life sentences for first degree murder be eligible for a parole hearing after 15 years? They shouldn’t. Criminals who hold life sentences for murder, rape, and kidnapping should stay in a jail cell. Without even the slightest chance of getting out. To many factors fall into play and the subject can only run deeper and deeper. These convicts were brutal in the outside world, and after taking their first step in a penitentiary it only gets worse. Their mental state crumbles, eventually leaving them hard wired to live in a dangerous environment. Being prosecuted for such terrible crimes, doesn’t happen just once for these people, and American citizens do not want these fist degree murderers set free in their communities.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prison experiences are shared by those who spent much time behind the bars and most of the experiences shared exemplify how cruel the prison system really was showing that no rehabilitation was occurring due to an excess in punishment. The Los Angeles Times published an article, “Cruel and Usual Punishment in Jails and Prisons,” in which ex-prisoners were interviewed and shared stories of their time in prison, many of which showed how corrupt prisons have truly become. The stories described prisons as appalling and cruel, one prisoner describe being handcuffed every day to his bunk while he had to remain only in his underwear, another prisoner described how it was to live in a cell located directly under broken toilet pipes for weeks resulting…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Miss

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Abstract: this paper will be discussing the code of ethics of a jail officer. I will talk about an incident that has taken place at a jail between a correction officer and a inmate. I will determine what code of ethics the correction officer has violated and what actions I chose to take due to the officers violations. In closing I will discuss whether or not the decisions I made was guided by the institution’s subculture.…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The unethical relationship between correction officers and inmates because a social issue because us on the outside don't really know what goes in on the inside so when people that came out of jail serving their prison time come out and says what the correction officers did to them it's not for society to turn our back on them because they are criminals but to look in to it to make sure this isn't happening to individuals. staff sexual misconduct has very real consequences for a facility and its mission. The impact such of incidents have on the public’s perception of corrections and its support for correctional activities. In the public eye every case of sexual misconduct…lowers any amount of faith that a citizen may have in the correctional system” and impacts public policy, “. Some relationships with inmates may produce children this becomes a social issue when both parents get looked up for the affair and now the children are put into the system making it a social issue.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harm Principle Law

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    We as humans may think that the punishment toward the criminal may fit the crime that they created. Principle laws, a society ultimately degenerates into despotism--the rule of the strong and violent over the weak and nonviolent. Harm Principle laws are essential, and every government on Earth has them. Some laws are based not strictly on harm or self-harm concerns, but also on promoting the personal morality of the law 's authors (Head, 2014). On a law standpoint, it is wrong to commit a crime against anyone regardless of their circumstances.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sentencing Paper

    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages

    There are various forms of sentencing that are used in the criminal justice system and each has its’ own rationale. These include but are not limited to the death penalty, incarceration, suspended sentence, probation, and restitution. The death penalty must be requested by the prosecutor and in some rare cases the defense. The death penalty can also be recommended by a jury, however only specific crimes are eligible for the death penalty. Most states require a certain number of witnesses in order to qualify the defendant for the death penalty. These crimes vary from state to state and include aggravated rape of a victim under 14 (including repeat offenses), espionage, piracy, ransom kidnapping, treason, and most commonly aggravated first degree murder. Incarceration is another popular form of sentencing. Although jail and prison are often used interchangeably, they differ. A prison sentence is typically longer and for those who commit felonies. A jail sentence is shorter and for those who commit misdemeanors, who are awaiting trial, or waiting to be transferred to a state facility. The ideology behind prisons is easy to recognize. We follow prisons in every…

    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Violent behavior among prison inmates continue to rise. There are certain prison rules that are set by the more dominant inmates and when those rules are broken by the less dominant inmates, there are consequences that must be suffered. These consequences include acts of violence being carried out against the “perpetrators.” With dominance being so important to inmates, there are often fights to prove who is more dominant. Once the dominance has been established, everyone else is expected to submit or pay a stiff price. Unfortunately, the less dominate literally gives up their “prison rights” to include giving up their bunks and food.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Inhumanity In Prison

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The general treatment and health state of prisoners is of high concern. There is a constant pressure on prisons to keep staff to a minimum meaning there is a limited access to out-of-cell activity and means prisoners have no one to escort them from place to place. This could also result in visits being cancelled, which mentally isolates the prisoner even more, decreasing potential for social integration, and increasing the likelihood of familial breakdown. One of the most serious deficiencies in prison life is the lack of mental stimulation and preparation for life on the outside. The inhumanity considered in denying individuals of opportunities to exercise physically, it most certainly applies to the mental side too. This lack of mental activity most certainly results in internal isolation, contributing nothing to…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are several articles that are on violence in our prison system. One article by Dan Frosch informs us of an inmate that refuses to follow the orders given to him by the guards in a Utah prison. As a result of his insolence they stripped him naked and tied him to a restraining chair for sixteen to twenty hours then released him to his cell in which he collapsed and died. An autopsy showed the inmate that goes by the name Michael Valent died from a blood clot that blocked an artery to his heart. This article featured in The Nation. Valent had died due to the fact that he was confined to the chair and could not move any part of his person for those sixteen hours when he was restrained: “The chilling incident made national news not only because it happened to be videotaped but also because Valent’s family successfully sued the State Of Utah and forced it to stop using the device” (Frosch). The guards who had done this to Michael Valent also had done the same to other inmates as well but they lived or the abuse was never recorded. It is likely that incidents like this have happened around America but never been reported or made public knowledge. In some cases the prisoners do not speak out about what is happening to them fearing the consequences from the guards or fellow…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Take a deeper look into corrections, it seems like a tightly held ship. Yet, the people, funding, and politics are what keep it running. From the judges who hand down the sentence, to the officers themselves who deal with the inmates on a daily basis.…

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics