Introduction
A highly debated topic in the United States is the Constitution and the rights it gives and how
those rights relate to prisoners in detention centers, jails, prisons, and pretrial confinement. Each
side has many reasons why these policies violate civil rights or not, which thus leads to what
leads to what rights are granted to prisoners. While Prisoners are not given access to all their
legal and constitutional rights, they do retain certain rights despite the crimes they have
committed.
The Four Legal Foundations
Those that are incarcerated do have rights, they fall under four legal foundations: The United
States Constitution. Federal Statutes, States Constitutions, and the Statues (Schmalleger &
Smykla, p.312,2021). Discussions about prisoner rights in the United States usually revolve
around the U.S. Constitution, which is considered the highest law of the land. Looking at the
cons tuition it’s important to note the First, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth and fourteenth amendments that
all directly support prisoner’s maintaining their rights. Diving deeper into those rights, they
include freedom of speech (although it may not always be an absolute right), protection from
unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to assistance of counsel, protection from excessive
bail and cruel and unusual punishment, and due process rights. The issue of whether pretrial
detention violates the rights of the person on trial is a matter of controversy. In the 2017 U.S.
Supreme Court case Manuel v. City of Joliet, the court established that detaining a defendant
before trial without a valid reason, even after the defendant has had the chance to appear before a
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judge, will violate the Fourth Amendment (Neubauer & Fradella, 2019).
Once an individual has been arrested and processed” booked”, they move into what is
known as pretrial confinement, where they await first appearance, preliminary or bail hearing,
indictment, or arraignment. During a bail hearing a Judge can deny bail if there is a public safety
issue or if the offender is a “flight risk”. Offenders do have a right to “speedy trial”, which keeps
the court accountable to how their process works. . Supreme court case Manuel v. City of Joliet,
“the Supreme Court established that detaining a defendant before trial without a valid reason—
even after the defendant has had the chance to appear before a judge—will violate the Fourth
Amendment” (Neubauer & Fradella, 2019).
Prisoner’s Rights
If an offender feels that they have been wrongfully detained, they can file a writ of habeas corpus
and bring it in front of a judge to discuss the matter. A prisoner can also do a state tort lawsuit
which allows a private citizen to sue the government for damages. A federal civil rights lawsuit
can be filed which is a legal dispute between a citizen and a government employee which is
filled under the Civil Rights act of 1871. Or they can petition for injunctive relief, which an
inmate may request, and they can involve claims of adverse effects for health, safety, and
sanitation procedures and may involve the entire facility.
No matter what society as a hole thinks of those in jail or prison it does not mean they
no longer have rights nor do they deserve to be treated unjustly. They still are people.
And society should not forget what the lord has said “ Rember those who are in prison,
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as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the
body.” (Hebrews 13:3. ESV) God want us not to judge those in prison for they are of
human flesh just like us and it is important that we remember that when dealing with all
people. To advocate for their constitutional, civil, and human rights, it is essential that
we rise above our emotions and attempt to comprehend the pain and frustration that
arises from being mistreated. This empathetic approach is critical to making progress in
ensuring that justice is served with fairness and equality, and to fighting against all
forms of wrongdoing within the criminal justice and correctional systems.
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References
Schmalleger, F. & Smykla, J. (2017). Corrections in the 21st century, 9th Ed.
McGraw-Hill
Education.
https://playerui.mheducation.com/#/epub/
sn_9fcdb#epubcfi(%2F6%2F6%5Bdata-uuid-
fce9667a1be74f7ab096c47a94243a10%5D!%2F4%2F1:0)
Ecclesiastes 8:11. (n.d.). Retrieved from Biblegateway.com:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes
%208%3A11&version=NIV
Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2019). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice
System | 13th Edition.
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