In our last video we talked about some of the constitutional rights prisoners maintain
when they are incarcerated.
A number of these inalienable rights concern freedom of expression and communication.
But there are other rights making sure prisoners are treated humanely, and are given equal
access to the legal system.
Those rights are just as important.
One of the most relevant is the right of due process.
The due process clauses in the constitution maintain that you cannot be stripped of your
life, liberty, or property any moreso than is required by law.
In order to satisfy this constitutional right, prisoners must be notified before being further
stripped of life, liberty, or property.
For example, before a transfer to another prison, or punishment in solitary confinement.
This also ties into the 8th Amendment, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.
Although there are some guidelines for what “cruel and unusual“ actually means, there
is no set definition, and courts have a lot of leeway.
Punishments like solitary confinement have been considered cruel by mental health and
prison activists, yet they are still regularly used.
Still, the landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1991 set important standards for how forceful
a guard can be with an inmate, and for what reason.
Basically, it determines whether any force was needed and whether that force was a reasonable
response.
It is also important to question how seriously force appeared to be needed, and whether or
not guards could have used less force.
Finally, judges consider how badly the prisoner was injured by the use of force.
If it is discovered that the guards use of force was malicious and/or sadistic, it would
be considered an 8th Amendment violation.
Now, in regards to privacy.
While guards can search a prisoner’s belongings and living space at any time, without a search
warrant, there are some important limitations.
Searches, and more specifically, strip searches, cannot be used as a form of punishment, or
to harass inmates.
There must be a valid reason to search an inmate’s belongings or to force them to
undress for the purpose of a search.
Several cases focused on a violation of privacy when male prisoners were unnecessarily strip
searched in front female guards.
Other basic rights are more specific.
In 2003, an anti-prison-rape law was passed, making the prison duly responsible for sexual
assaults by both prisoners and guards.
However, sexual harassment is rarely prosecuted.
Prisoners also have a right to health care, meaning if they get sick, they are guaranteed
adequate medical care.
Guards cannot simply ignore a prisoner who needs medical help.
Nearly all inherent prisoner’s rights are based on interpretations of the First, Fifth,
Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
However, most other constitutional rights are generally nonexistent or limited in scope.
How those rights are decided is based on a long series of often conflicting court cases.
With over 60% of US prisoners convicted of nonviolent drug and immigration crimes, there
is no good reason to overlook these legal rights.
Our first video focused on a prisoner’s freedom of speech, religion, and ideology.
There are a lot of interesting caveats to what a prisoner can and cannot do.
check out part 1 for more information.
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