However, there are instances where the governmental interests that might outweigh the incarcerated individual’s right to refuse medical treatment: preservation of life;…
The national health care expenditures in the United States are excessive. High health care prices are the main reason for excessive health care spending in the United States. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) the United States is 5% of the World population and has 25% of world prisoners. The 25% of detainees are a combination of those in penitentiary, jail and those on parole or probation supervision. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is an agency responsible for the management of the federal prison structure. BOP’s task is to “protect public safety by ensuring that federal…
The Prison Service encompasses three central aims; holding prisoners securely, decrease risk of offending and lastly offer safe, well-ordered institutions in which prisoners are treated humanely, decently and lawfully (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p.193). When the state incarcerates, it must accept accountability for the basic care of those it detains. Although prisoners should not expect luxuries during their time of incarceration, they should not be deprived of the basic goods and comforts of life. Certification of access to enough goods should be available to help them develop as the citizens expected to be. Lord Justice Woolf (1991) claimed three necessities for the prison system to maintain steadiness: security, control and justice. In terms…
The US correctional system punishes offenders in different ways, because each offense is on a different level some can be felonies and some can be charged as misdemeanors. In our correctional system they punishes offenders, by putting them in jail/prison. But in its early years prison punishments for offenders were cruel. In the early year of the correctional system offenders punishments were very different from their punishments now in this day and age.…
As a Criminologist Advisor to the State Legislature, I have been chosen to provide a prison term policy on armed robbery. Currently the legislature will soon be voting on a bill that would double the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery. First I would like to define what the legal definition of armed robbery is as defined by the Black's Law Dictionary which is: an aggravated form of robbery in which the defendant is armed with a dangerous weapon, though it is not necessary to prove that he used the weapon to effectuate the robbery. The taking of property from person or presence of another by use of force or by threatening use of force while armed with a dangerous weapon (Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition).…
There are different degrees of correctional facilities so it’s important to have different procedures and standards for each facility. For example, there are male and female adult prisons, jails, juvenile detention facilities, mental health facilities and opioid treatment programs. “NCCHC’s leadership in setting standards for correctional health care is unsurpassed, rooted in long experience, deep knowledge and invaluable contributions from the leading experts in the fields of health, law and corrections. As health care evolves, so too do the standards, keeping them relevant and responsive to contemporary concerns and practices,” (National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2014). Setting these standards it important because it’s vital that inmates in these facilities obtain the proper health care, regardless of them being in jail or not. It is our government’s responsibility to keep inmates healthy as long as they have the capabilities and resources to do so and the NCCHC sets the standards that do this. If the government did not allow for proper health care to inmates there would be extreme ethical issues with that, whether or not some people feel these inmates deserve the health care or not. So the NCCHC’s role is to ensure these facilities or providing the proper health care to all correctional facilities by setting these regulations and standards, accrediting physicians and health care workers to work in correctional facilities as well as educating and training them and checking in on the facilities to be sure they are running the health care programs…
The first major historical development of the U.S. courts was would be the Penitentiary Era (1790-1825) The Walnut Street Jail was America’s first real prison in Philadelphia. The prison was ran by the Quakers who thought that prison should be a place where offenders should may make amends with society and accept responsibility for their misdeeds. (Schmalleger, 2009) The Quakers elements of philosophy included rehabilitation and deterrence which is still used to this day. Penance was the primary methods of rehabilitation because of this all of the offenders were put into solitary confinement, so they would be left to think of their crimes. The Quakers even had high walls put up to let the offenders go out to get exercise daily, eventually…
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.…
There are many facets in the health care industry. Examples include hospitals, urgent care centers, physicians’ offices, medical labs, and more. One not really spoken about, is the prison health care system. Prison health care is the medical treatment of inmates in the United States Correctional Facilities (Means & Cochran, 2012) this is according to the report. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is a federal agency that oversees the medical needs of prisoners. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “In 2012, the number of admissions to state and federal prison in the…
Private prisons scattered across the country house tens of thousands inmates. The companies behind some of the largest private prisons claim they are lifting the weight of taxpayer dollars funding federal prisons. In a billion dollar industry, many find it hard to believe that they’re not working for their own best interest. Humans rights organizations across the country have challenged the corporations behind the industry. These groups argue that this system doesn’t work to rehabilitate prisoners, but rather set their inmates up for failure; reaping in more profit for themselves.…
Kids who commit serious crimes should not go scot-free. If society doesn't recognize them as adults until the age of 18, why do kids suddenly become responsible as an adult when they commit a crime? Children have as much business in a prison as they do a bar. Yet, twenty-three states have no minimum age. Two, Kansas and Vermont, can try 10 year old kids as adults.…
For many years the state and federal courts have spent large amount of time and effort in cases involving constitutional rights of incarcerated prisoners. The courts have made many rulings over the conflicts of prisoner’s rights when it comes to use of force, mail, religious rights, legal procedures, and parole. In addition, the courts faced the issue of the prisoner’s constitutional rights to receive medical aid and proper medical treatment. Many prisoners claim that they are not receiving proper medical attention that they require, or that the prison medical staffs are being neglectful of the inmates medical needs. The courts have ruled in favor to better improve the medical staff and medical treatment for prisoners but there are limitations. Moreover, inmates must understand that…
Hospitals, prisons and other community service agencies, in addition to being landing pads for those with mental illness, also contribute to the problem of homelessness through mounting debt and inadequate discharge planning. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and contributes to housing instability in 27% of people struggling with medical bills (Pollitz et al. n.p.). Even among individuals with private health insurance, those with “out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed five percent of their income are about twice as likely to have difficulties paying their rent and utilities, [and] affording food…” (Pollitz et al. n.p.). Likewise, the prison system burdens its “guests” with crippling debt. The costs imposed on criminal defendants – which include court fees, restitution, fines, booking fees, probation supervision fees, treatment fees for any ailments or substance abuse, per diem…
What then is the best setting in which to provide the care? They must look at the scenario of developing acute care psychiatric units in prisons by shifting state funds to departments of corrections from departments of mental health. Many departments of corrections have agreements with state departments of mental health for providing acute care. This approach creates expenses associated with the transfer of offenders back and forth and security concerns, as well as interdepartmental conflicts and communication problems inherent in the difference between handling offenders and handling patients.Suicide is the third leading cause of death in U.S. state and federal prisons, exceeded only by natural causes and AIDS. Comprehensive suicide-prevention programs in prisons are of increasing importance to mental health professionals, correctional administrators, healthcare providers, legislators, attorneys, and others as they seek to rehabilitate offenders and avoid the multi million-dollar lawsuits that often arise from inmate…
While prisons house a number a social outcast, misfits and some all around dangerous people, they face a number of problems as well. The prison agencies are taking steps to deal with health threats from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The Justice Department reported that twenty-two thousand four hundred eighty state and federal inmates were infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS. Another issue prisons are facing is dealing with geriatric offenders; the significant expansion of America’s retiree population has led to an increase in the number of elderly people who are behind bars. Mentally ill inmates make up another group with social needs; some are neurotic or have personality problems, which increase tensions in prison. Prisons provide a part of the answer to the question of crime control; they also face problems of their own.…