Supermax jail dates back to 1820, when it was founded primarily for the purpose of significantly aiding in the rehabilitation of inmates through the use of an isolation mechanism. (Van 2016). It was argued that the majority of the prisoners' time would be spent locked up inside the prison, in this instance, in the cells, reflecting on their crimes away from all potential sources of distraction. Both European and South American countries adopted the prison's planned objectives. Additionally, the use of solitary confinement was viewed as a more ethical alternative to the death sentence and as a socially and morally acceptable form of punishment. In the present day, Supermax prison is still considered the highest level of secure custody for inmates.
Majority of the prisoners who get convicted to facilities such as Supermax in most cases are considered to have engaged in serious criminal offenses such as murder and not limited to rape and attempted escape (Reid, 2015). The facility also houses individuals convicted of involvement with terrorist activities. Prisoners get assigned to these behavior correction facilities according to the offenses they committed and not based on how they were conducting themselves during the incarceration period. Other stiff measures get placed on them. For example, the special administrative measures that restrict these individuals from interacting with the outside world. As discussed in the entire research paper, it is undebatable that the conditions prevalent in these Supermax facilities are unacceptably harsh and violate the constitutional right of the prisoners (Smith, R. (2015).
In understanding the various ways in which Supermax prison violates the rights of individuals, it is important, to begin with, the definition of rights. In this case, rights refer to the unlimited legal advantage that a person enjoys and results in a constitutional offense upon its infringement (Chemerinsky, 2016). Here are some rights that every prisoner is entitled. They include
The Right to Conditions that are Humane
The eighth amendment provides for the right to be free from any form of punishment that seems to be cruel (Reinert, 2015). The Supreme Court recognizes cruel as any action that violates the basic concepts regarding the dignity of an individual and that which results in suffering to the person. An example is subjecting an inmate to heavy punishment and providing them with little food in exchange for the labor. In such scenarios, inmates are likely to suffer from health-related conditions that make them unable to undertake their activities efficiently and adequately.
The Right to Freedom from Sexual Crime.
Inmates should not get subjected to any form of sexual abuse or harassment. This clause gets provided for in the prison rape elimination act. Inmates deserve to get handled with respect and not considered sex slaves.
The Right to an Environment Free From Racial Segregation
Racial segregation must not be practiced in prison not unless it is solely meant to preserve discipline or maintain security within the prison
The Right to File Complaint
The law provides for inmates to raise their complaints regarding the prison environment. It gives them the right to present their case in court for a hearing.
Rights to Access ADA Rights
American with Disability Act gives inmates the right to access reasonable accommodation. The act gives them the right to demand equal treatment and use of prison facilities.
The Right to Health Attention
The law provides for prisoners to receive proper health attention despite the nature of their illness. The treatment is expected to be adequate and not necessarily the best.
The Right to Access Better Mental Health Care.
Prisoners who have mental conditions are entitled to adequate treatment that is relevant to the circumstances they are facing. It needs to be sufficient.
First Amendment Rights
Prisoners are entitled to the first amendment rights which include the freedom to free speech as well as religion (Stone, Seidman, Sunstein & Tushnet, 2016). It is only applicable in the case that it won’t change the status of the inmates. Reports and findings from various international organizations that advocate for human rights have established the infringement of human rights more so inmates in Supermax prisons. Conditions in federal conviction facilities such as Supermax have to a great extent engaged in the breach of standards regarding SMR. Some of the standards include access to enough fresh air as well as outdoor exercises that enhance inmates’ good health. Some of the constitutional rights that Supermax prisons have violated include
First Amendment Rights
It refers to the right that an individual has to enable them to express their opinions without the fear of the government freely. It acts as a fundamental pillar of democracy. Creating an environment that does not allow somebody to communicate their thoughts is an infringement of this right. Supermax prisons have directly involved themselves in limiting inmate’s freedom of speech. For example, prisoners in these facilities spend a minimum of 3 years confined in the solitary cells for about 22-24 hours in a day. It is often before their admission to the SDP. Inmates who get convicted to Controlling units which in this case tend to be high isolation facilities, have no access to SDP since they often serve fixed terms that at times can get extended to a period of six years. Having a look at this scenario, it means that these individuals usually spend their time alone. In such situation, they are hindered from interactions and expressing their thought verbally. Not only is their freedom of speech denied to them but also their right to religion. Given that they spend up to 24hrs in their cells they have no access to religious functions such as church services for the Christians and mosques for Muslims. Their right to worship get denied despite it being a constitutional right.
Right to Humane Conditions
The condition that exists in Supermax prisons is often hostile to the inmates (Haney, 2017). For instance, human beings get often recognized as social beings. Without getting to interact with other individuals, the mind gets exposed to decay. Having nothing involving to do makes the brain to atrophy. The inability to see far distance makes one's vision to fade. With these harsh conditions such as isolation, the high chances are that the individual will significantly suffer from anxiety as well as hopelessness. Solitary confinement that often exceeds 15 days has a tremendous effect on prisoner’s health. It leads to severe irreversible psychological challenges such as depression, loss of control, hopelessness, perpetual distortions et al. Failure for Supermax prisons to provide outdoor exercise that is essential for the inmate's health is against the United Nation SMR. Taking a look at California, chances that a prisoner is likely to engage in suicide is 33 times higher in Supermax facilities as compares to inmates based in other prisons. From the management of Supermax prisons, it is clear that they engage in the violation of prisoners’ rights despite the USA’s obligation of ensuring the prisoners get treated humanely.
The Right to Access Better Mental Healthcare
The 2012 lawsuit filed against United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum facility which is a Supermax prison presented several pieces of evidence that showed the presence inmates who were suffering from severe mental illness got confined within the Supermax prison (Robertson, 2013). It was against the eighth amendment given that the inmates never went through proper screening as well as a diagnosis to determine their mental state and health. To the few individual who got identified as suffering from mental illness, they never received appropriate treatment as required by law.
Due to the extreme conditions that are often present in the control unit, the policy of federal bureau of prisons stipulates that whether a prisoner gets referred to ADX yet, he has a substantial evidence of severe mental disorder, they are not to get placed under Control Unit. However, in September of the year 2013, it was found out that a prisoner who has a severe mental illness had hung himself in ADX (United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum facility general population cell). Reports have it that the individual spent over a decade serving in the ADX with the administration of intermittent health care. Upon medication, he got returned to ADX without considering his deteriorating health state. Before his death, it got noted that the individual was suffering from psychotic symptoms that got ignored by medical service providers of the Supermax prison.
Nonetheless, at the point of filing the lawsuit, it was established that ADX with a population of 4500 inmates had only two health professionals who in most cases spent limited time within the correction facility premises. Allegations made identified that there was an inconsistent administration of psychotropic medication. The correction officers lacked enough skills to recognize symptoms of some of the severe mental illness that got witnessed in Supermax prison (Ferranti, 2015). The counseling sessions for the prisoners took place at the cell entrance instead of the private wing where such activities get recommended.
Recommendations
Based on the frequent violations of human rights which get experienced in Supermax prisons, I recommend adoption of the following as a move to protect the rights of inmates.
Prisoners who suffered from extreme behavioral disorders, as well as mental illness, are not supposed to get housed in ADX. They need to get adequate mental attention and treatment to get administered in an appropriate therapeutic environment. Regular monitoring of prisoners should get conducted by the health professional.
All the prisoners need to get provided access to enough outdoor activities as well as recreation. It is advisable that they get opportunities to interact with other prisoners. No inmate needs to get subjected to long confinement durations that bring about extreme levels of isolation like the ones that often get witnessed in control units.
The existence of different control units such as Range 13 cells that have led to severe psychological torture and breeding of mental disorders as a result of more extended isolation periods need to get discontinued. By doing these, the inmates won’t get exposed to severe conditions that have a negative impact on their well-being and health.
Prisoners need to get enough attention regarding their health status. The healthcare staff needs to report to an individual in charge of the inmate’s wellbeing, for example, the prison authorities in the case that isolation is posing a high risk to the prisoner.
Conclusion
From the above, it gets noted that Supermax prisons have actively engaged in the infringement of the inmate’s constitutional rights in various easy such as denying them access to proper medical care, isolating them hence hindering their freedom to speech and worship as stipulated in the fourth amendment act. These practices have had numerous psychological and mental effect on the inmates within these federal correctional facilities. Some of the psychological challenges that they have had to go through include depress hopelessness et al. some have recorded poor health due to limited access to outdoor activities essential for their wellbeing. The management these server environments that prisoners often get exposed to requires Supermax prisons to adopt measures such as providing appropriate medical attention to the inmates and necessary treatment to get administered to them.
To avoid mental problems among prisoners that are often rough about by isolation, giving inmates the opportunity to interact with other prisoners as well as engaging in outdoor activities is necessary. In the case that prisoners need to get placed in Control units, vigorous screening of the individual health need to get done. It will ensure that inmates of poor health are not subjected to such severe punishment hence reducing instances of death cases that get witnessed in these facilities. By doing this, all the prisoners shall enjoy their constitutional rights.
References
Chemerinsky, E. (2016). Constitutional law. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Ferranti, S. (2015). The realities of special housing units in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Marion experiment: Long-term solitary confinement and the supermax movement, 35-58.
Haney, C. (2017). Restricting the Use of Solitary Confinement. Annual Review of Criminology, (0).
Hinds, M., & Butler, J. (2015). Solitary Confinement: Can the Courts Get Inmates out of the Hole. Stan. JCR & CL, 11, 331.
Reid, S. T. (2015). Crime and criminology. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Reinert, A. A. (2015). Reconceptualizing the Eighth Amendment: Slaves, Prisoners, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment. NCL Rev., 94, 817.
Robertson, J. E. (2013). Recent Legal Developments: Correctional Case Law: 2012. Criminal Justice Review, 38(2), 256-270.
Smith, R. (2015). Prison conditions: overcrowding, disease, violence, and abuse. Simon and Schuster.
Stone, G. R., Seidman, L. M., Sunstein, C. R., & Tushnet, M. V. (2016). The first amendment. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
van Aken, C. D. (2016). Solitary by any other name: Silence to segregation in American prisons. San José State University.
