do you think prisoners have too many rights?

Question

should we go back to medievil ways with prisoners or is "re-habilitation" working?

some very good answers that i am struggling to pick one i like the best

Answer 1

Some prisons are no more than dowdy hotels, they have TV's, DVD players, In room showers, its disgraceful. Some of these inmates have committed horrendous crimes against children and elderley people yet live the lap of luxury at the expense of the tax payer.
I say hang em if they have killed somone and if its not murder they should be made to live in much harsher conditions..no wonder there is no detterent against crime!

Answer 2

Good question!

I think that firstly, prisoners should be judged on the degree of crime that they have committed. Then there should be some law that restricts the "most dangerous prisoners" rights. I further think this can be justifiable because for prisoners to be in prison they must have violated someone's rights (think about it) or the government's and should thus also feel their rights being violated too.

As for the rehabilitation, I personally feel that it is a "step in the right direction" though we should not forget or condone the acts of the prisoners as this may encourage other aspiring criminals to do bad, in the hope of not fully serving their sentence or just living a better life in rehab, a opposed to the streets.

Answer 3

The people who think that prison shouldn't be toughened up are normally the same people who think the police are too hard on the poor "misaligned" youth who have nothing to do.
In reality these people have never suffered the indignity of having excrement thrown at their windows, have never been burgled by yet another drugged up loser and have never seen their wife gunned down by someone who was let out on a tag for "good behaviour".
The current system of letting people serve half their sentence, giving them a cushy jail cell and often more rights than their victims is NOT working. I say we let the do-gooders experience first hand by moving them all to a sink-estate, then we build some more prisons, take away the TVs and magazines and scrap the half sentence rule.

Answer 4

It's not a issue of prisoners having rights and it's not a matter of torture vs rehabilitation.

Prisons don't work because - and most won't like this - prison sentences are too long. Long sentences mean that prisoners get acclimatised to the situation. There level of suffering needed to prevent prisoners getting comfortable in jail would be totally barbaric. The solution is to not let the prisoner get comfortable. A one week prison sentence can be as effective a deterrent to a first time criminal as a six months sentence. The aim should be to ensure that the prisoner is uncomfortable not in terms of punishment but in terms of uncertainty, responsibility piled back on them and isolation from other criminals. I would have a prison system for first time offenders separated from repeat offenders and not mix prisoners together in groups bigger than four. The key to long term would be responsibility, make it clear if they don't work then they don't get fed and possibly make them buy their own food. I would also try and get drugs out of prison - as currently it's no secret that it's easier for many prisoners to get drugs inside prison than outside.

Answer 5

This is a double edged sword. Should we be harder on our inmates? Without a doubt, however, it could come at a higher cost. You take a human, cage him like an animal, he will begin to act as an animal. Give him a place to play and a tv to watch, it seems to make things easier in the long run for the people watching him. With that said, it creates a safe environment for this person, who really has no worries except " don't drop the soap" So, they are unable to reacquaint themselves with real society. Where they have to be responsible, so they create situations where they can go back. Myself, if I were in charge of a state, you can damn sure bet there wouldn't be any of those signs on the roads saying this part of the highway is being taken care of by (insert civic organization here). It would be this part of the road is taken care of by the felons of
(insert county here).... Have them out there in there "dress stripes" Then again that would be cruel and inhumane treatment as deemed by the ACLU.

Answer 6

I wouldn't say go back to medieval times, but yes prisoners today are given to many rights. How is playing computer games and watching TV "rehabilitation"? It's all just to soft, God forbid anyone should breach there human rights! Prison is like a holiday camp nowadays, hence crime levels are steadily rising and there is a lack of prison space. Plus the fact that the government is more interested in jailing tax evaders than paedophiles does not bowd well for the British justice system.

Answer 7

Their rights go straight out of the window as soon as they commit that crime/s.

They should be kept in stone cells with the minimum facilities ( toilet and sink). Non of this **** of tv's, pool tables,computers. They are in there having fun whilst the victims of their crimes are suffering.

Alot of people commit crime because their standard of living outside prisons are worse. They know that when they go to prison they will get hot food hot water and warmth.

Its all wrong. Thats why some many people commit crime, to get a better standard of living for a while

Answer 8

I NEVER KNEW THAT REHABILITATION WORK.
90% ARE BACK IN PRISION(recidivism RATE) WITHIN 3 YEARS. There's really higher number than that but many aren't caught or die before being readmitted. and many cop a plea to lower charges to stay out.
but 90% is proof enough that priosn and jails are no deterrent.


High paid social worker say:
It would help people transition to life outside of prison and provide strategic help in five key areas: employment, housing, mental health, substance abuse and support for families.

Hey give most Americans $50,000 they too would be happy.
way above average income. Get real! Society.

CHEAPER TO KEEP THEM LOCKED UP!

Prisoners rights I don't worry about--
It keeping them locked up until they meet educational needs and psyco needs.
And some don't ever do do.

don't want this lock'em up thro away the key.
Just want Judges and The Leg to get tough on first and second time offender.

Dont pamper these hoods.

Answer 9

One of the problems with old fashioned prisons was that although petty criminals would not re-offend those criminals who have served 10 or 15 year sentences without luxuries like conversation, newspapers or sunlight would generally end up so maladjusted that they would not cope with life outside and commit a crime with the intention to go back to prison having been unable to cope with society.
In medieval times generally prisoners were killed by the squalid conditions long before their case got to trial, many hundreds of innocents died for crimes they would have been proved innocent of if they had survived prison long enough to make it to court. Although you may consider that system meritorious I most certainly do not.

Answer 10

If we believe what we read, then YES, I think they do have too many rights.

Whilst I don't believe we should go back quite so far in time, I do think that if you have been found guilty of committing a crime, your entitlement to Human Rights should decrease somewhat.

I don't think conditions should be inhuman though and I do believe that these people should seriously be rehabilitated (and educated if necessary) and if, once freed, the commit crime again, their sentences should be FAR FAR longer with little chance of release without meeting very stringent conditions.