Examples Of Disabilities In Prisons

Intro to Corrections
4/8/14
Professor Caine

Disabilities in Jails To have a disability means that you have a physical or mental illness that limits your activities movement, senses, or activities. Three percent of state prison population meets federal statutory definition of developmental disabilities. Inmates with developmental disabilities have long prior histories of criminal convictions involving more serious offenses than other inmates to have served a prior prison or jail term. Prisoners with disabilities are flying under the radar and aren’t getting the help they need making it hard for them to get rehabilitated. People with disabilities in prisons is becoming a huge issue throughout the world. There were many acts passed throughout
They are mistreated and don’t belong being “mainstreamed” into the general population of state prisons. They often have trouble adjusting to prison rules and are more likely to have prison rule infractions on their records. They usually don’t know that they are doing something wrong when they get in trouble which is the bad thing about them getting put together with other prisoners. They often are victims of trickery and abuse from other inmates because they have a hard time understanding and communicating with others. If the inmate is physically disabled they can become a victim of physical abuse by other prisoners because they don’t have the same physical advantages as the others making them easier targets. I think we should be more aware about disabled prisoners flying under the radar and not getting the real help they need. If the disabled prisoners aren’t getting the help they need, they aren’t really getting rehabilitated so there is no point of them being in jail to begin with because once they get out they are bound to commit another crime. Disabled prisoners have sued to get equal access to facilities, programs, and services. For examples disabled prisoners sued for prison showers, toilets, and to be protected from injury or risk of injury. Deaf and hearing impaired prisoners won cases to get sign language interpreters for hearings
This makes it hard for prisoners with disabilities to get the help and rehabilitation that they should be getting making them more likely to be reoffenders of crimes. There are many Acts set in place to help disabled people have more rights in hope that they are not violated anymore. Unfortunately disabled prisoners still see abuse even through these acts and their constitutional rights are violated. If the corrections system comes up with a valid way to rehabilitate these offenders it would help the criminal justice system