The United States houses more prisoners than any other country on earth.
With a sizeable chunk of the US population behind bars, it is vitally important that
prisoners are not denied their basic human rights.
So, what rights do prisoners actually have?
Well, being a convicted prisoner inherently means you lose certain constitutional freedoms.
But prison officials can’t just ban anything they want.
Restrictions are based on order and safety considerations.
There are a number of court precedents dictating how restrictions are allowed to be applied.
Obviously, certain rights, such as the right to bear arms, the right to privacy, and the
right to free assembly are not possible while incarcerated.
One of the best resources for prisoner rights is the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook, produced
by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The first, and most important right, is that of Free Speech.
However there are some limits.
Prison officials are able to restrict prisoners’ speech if they can prove it passes the Turner
Test.
The Turner Test is four questions to determine whether a restriction is based on a legitimate
government interest.
First, a restriction must actually apply to a safety or order concern by government officials.
For example, prisons cannot ban discussions about communism simply because they prefer
capitalism.
Second, the restriction must still leave room for a prisoner to exercise their free speech
in another manner.
Prisoners may not be allowed to use e-mail, but they can still write letters to the outside
world.
Third, regulations must take into account the impact on prison officials and other prisoners.
An overly complicated form of expression that takes up too much time or resources can be
banned on this basis.
Finally, if there is an easier alternative unrelated to free speech, it must be pursued
first before a ban is instated.
The Turner Test is also applied to a prisoner’s outside communication.
While prison officials are allowed to inspect reading materials and mail, they cannot censor
it unless it is obscene or dangerous.
Additionally, while prisoners are denied a right to privacy, they are still allowed limited
and monitored phone calls, visits and even relationships.
Prisoners are also guaranteed a freedom of religion.
Prisons can’t institute rules that discriminate against a single religion, and inmates can
follow religious practices as long as they are not harmful or overly complicated.
However, a recent ban on beards was upheld despite it’s potential discrimination against
Muslims, and a lack of evidence that it would endanger prison officials.
In fact, prisons are technically not allowed to discriminate on race or religion either.
However, some racial segregation has been justified as avoiding gang violence, and it
is often difficult to prove racial discrimination.
Gender segregation is allowed on the basis of prisoner safety and order, however prison
programs must be of equal quality and access to all genders.
This is based on the 14th Amendment of “equal protection of the law”.
Freedom of expression and fair treatment are vital for prisoners.
Rights relating to legal assistance and humane treatment are just as important in making
sure all prisoners are able to maintain some quality of life while incarcerated.
Stay tuned for Prison Rights part two to find out what else prisoners are constitutionally
entitled to.
America’s massive prison population has partially been blamed on the financial success
of running a private, for-profit, prison.
To learn more about how private prisons are a drain on US society and economy, check out
this video.
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