There was a
time when inmates were considered to be little more than subhuman slaves of the
state by the criminal justice system. Judges once maintained that prisoners had
no rights and thus could not do anything to impede their punishment, no matter
how cruel and life threatening. The courts maintained that prisoners had given
up these rights when they committed the crimes that put them in jail.
However,
things have changed a lot in the United States since the 19th century. During
the 20th century, laws were put in place to ban cruel and unusual punishment of
prisoners in the U.S.
Changes in Prisoner Rights during the 1960s
The Civil
Rights Act of 1871 was used to champion the cause of prisoners’ rights in the
1960s. The act was originally written to enforce civil liability on those who
deprive others of their constitutional rights. In 1961, the United States
Supreme Court would rule that these liabilities applied to state officials in
federal courts during the Monroe v. Pape case. The ruling also had the capacity
to be used in cases of prisoners’ rights.
A Supreme
Court case in 1962, Robinson v. California, asserted that the Eighth Amendment of
the Constitution applied to cruel and unusual punishment of prisoners of the
state. Our courts still hold that prisoners have fewer rights than other
citizens, however, and some say the tide may be turning toward a more hands-off
approach, similar to that of the 19th century.
The State of the Eighth Amendment
Who knows
what the current face of prisoner rights in the United States would look like
if it weren’t for the Eight Amendment? This amendment specifically prohibits
cruel and unusual punishment. Such punishment could come in the form of
inhumane living conditions, insufficient medical care, failure to protect from
attacks, the use of force or deliberate indifference to pain, suffering and
threats to medical health.
There are
still many grey areas when it comes to the Eighth Amendment and prisoners’
rights, though. While many prisoners’ rights advocates argued that overcrowding
was a form of cruel and unusual punishment, the court decided in the case of
Bell v. Wolfish in 1979 that double cells were not unconstitutional. In other
cases, prisoners have sued over use of force and lost, depending on the
seriousness of their injuries. We still uphold the general rights of prisoners,
however, as part of being a civilized nation.
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