A Question of Rights: The human rights abuses of prisoners in U.S. prisons is a result of the racist justice system and apathetic government.

Essay by ruby_redHigh School, 12th gradeA, July 2004

download word file, 13 pages 4.3

For my Question of Rights assignment I chose to research into the abuse of rights of prisoners in prisons in the United States of America. I chose to research into the often forgotten plight of prisoners because they endure a lot of abuses of human rights in their time in prison and as yet they do not have proper representation in normal society. The abuse that prisoners suffer in prison, just like any abuse, compounded by the social stigma surrounding released prisoners impacts on their ability to find work, socialise with others and generally conform to normal society upon their release.

I chose to research into prisoner abuse in prisons in the United States to focus my report and condense the information I was collecting. I also wanted to research into the abuses of prisoners in a developed democratic country, rather than a developing nation or that under an autocratic or corrupt system of government.

I decided to research into prisons because although there is currently more coverage in the media of the abuse of prisoners in Iraq I was not sure of the regulations regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. I also wanted to research into a topic that was contemporary and at the same time enduring.

The abuse of prisoners is an extremely topical issue in the United States of America, because of its large prison population. There are currently over 2 million people incarcerated in prisons in the United States (the global rate is estimated at 8 to 10 million) and of those nearly 94,000 inmates are housed in private prisons. Private prisons are essentially profit-driven and as they are not government-run they operate under the rules and standards of the company in ownership. All of the abuses and more that prisoners encounter in Federal...