Article: American Prisons Suffer Abuse This is an excert from one of the site I sent you dharma
Prisoner Advocacy and the Criminal Justice System - American Prisons Suffer Abuse
Home > Social sciences > Law > Criminal law
Author: Lynn R. Hartz, Ph.D.
Contributor(s): originally published in The Charleston Gazette, June 7, 2004
Published on: July 7, 2004
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The pictures of the Iraqi prisoners, detainees — whatever the “politically correct” word for these people is this time — are absolutely disgusting and demeaning. The humiliation of humankind for whatever reasons is undesirable. Torture is unconscionable. These Iraqi prisons and the one at Guantanamo Bay have received much attention because of the abuses that the prisoners have been subjected to.
But here in the United States we have more than 2.5 million people in prisons, and many of them are being as humiliated and abused as the people at Guantanamo Bay and in the Iraqi prisons. Recent articles state that some of the people who are U.S. military police, guards, intelligence officers and such at these prisons have come from the U.S. prison system. The U.S. prison system is where much of the treatment has been taught.
There are unbelievable abuses in the United States prison system. The federal system, which is operated by the federal government, is different than the state systems. The one thing that they all have in common is that they are abusive in various ways.
One of the most atrocious articles that I have read recently had to do with women in prison in Texas. When they are transported from one place to another, the women are chained together, and their hands are chained to the floor in vans. They are not allowed bathroom breaks or time to take care of their personal needs when their monthly menstrual cycles occur. That could mean that these women would go for hours without the opportunity to go to the bathroom. But, even worse than that, they would be chained in positions that animals wouldn’t even be chained in if they were being transported somewhere. Abuse? Yes. Torture? Yes. Has it stopped? Not from my last correspondence with a female inmate in Texas.
Texas is also noted for the way it allows women inmates to give birth. They are chained to the hospital bed, allowing very little movement during the birth process. Abuse? Yes. Torture? I would definitely say so. Has it stopped? Probably not. The last I read was that they planned to only partially chain them to the bed while giving birth.
The federal system has a program that is much more humane. The women inmates who are pregnant live in a house outside of the prison. They give birth in a local hospital and then are allowed to stay at the house until the baby is three months old in order to “bond” with the baby. That’s a good idea, except then, suddenly, the woman has to go back to prison, and the baby is given to someone else to raise. The emotional trauma that the woman experiences is close to abuse and torture. Depending on the support of the family, the baby may or may not be given to the family. If it isn’t, then the baby is given to human services for placement in foster care.
Women are also subjected to abuse from both female and male guards. The whys and wherefores related to this abuse vary. The female correctional officers may be trying to move up the employment ladder and be promoted. If that is part of their personal agenda, they will do things such as unnecessary strip searches, cell searches and such, hoping to “look good” to the administration and get that next promotion. The male guards might have sexual relationships with the women inmates in return for favors. That might be something as mundane as a piece of candy to a better work assignment for the female inmate. Abuse of power? Most definitely. And yes, women have been impregnated by male correctional officers.
Then, for additional abusive situations in this country, take a good look at Arizona. The Arizona prison system has people living in tents in the desert — blazing hot in the summer and cold at night. The tents are heated with space heaters. The inmates have to buy their own clothes. And, at some of the jails, the men are forced to wear pink underwear! Humiliation? I would say so. Not only that, this type of treatment should be stopped immediately.
Then, there are the abuse problems inside the men’s prisons. The maximum-security prisons have limited contact for visitors. Loss of visitation privileges is often held over the inmate’s head. “The hole” is still used for “disciplinary action,” but it is simply called by a different name. “Administrative segregation” is the term that is used. Some of the correctional officers like to use their authority for this type of control frequently. That is mild compared to the experiences that the inmates might have.
There are beatings, often for unknown reasons. There have been incidences of food being taken away. There have been cell searches and trumped-up charges related to items that an inmate might have, even if they were obtained through proper channels. Abuse? Definitely.
The psychological games the correctional officers play are just as sick, and provide just as much torment and torture mentally. Some of the correctional officers look for reasons to put an inmate back in “the hole.” They play favorites and games. The brighter and more intelligent the inmate, the more games that are played.
Inmates on death row are allowed out of their cells one hour a day for exercise and are not even allowed contact with other inmates. One man’s case is still under appeal after 15 years — and there is evidence to prove his innocence. All this time, the man has no family to help and needs shoes, which he is expected to buy himself. However, he isn’t allowed to work in the prison and make any money. Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?
The abuse in the U.S.-run foreign prisons is atrocious. The military, especially the commanding officers, should be held responsible for what has happened. But, with as many citizens as are in prisons in the United States, there should be more focus on how they are operated, the offenses of humiliation, abuse, torture and degradation, and it should be stopped.
After all, prisoners are people, too.
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