Detention: A Fictional Narrative

The massive over-use of pre-trial detention around the world and its excessively prolonged duration represent an alarming but still overlooked human rights abuse undermining the right to presumption of innocence, the right to liberty and security and the right to fair trial and fostering further violations. The need for addressing such a practice should include a specific attention to corruption and poor rates of integrity within the institutional sectors playing a relevant role in the pre-trial stage, namely the law enforcement forces and the judiciary.

Mother Behind Bars examines a lot of inadequate policies and procedures that these states have in place for federal and state correctional facilities. This report card bring up the issue on prenatal care, shackling, prison nurseries, and family based treatment as an alternative to incarceration however in this paper I will focus on the restraints on these pregnant inmates. New Jersey received a grade of D for shackling policies. Besides New Jersey thirty-seven other states obtain a D/F for their failure to comprehensively limit, or limit at all, the use of restraints on pregnant women transportation, labor, delivery, and postpartum recuperation (National Women’s Law Center, 2010). The use of restraints can compromise the health and safety of the women and the unborn child. Shackling pregnant women is dangerous and inhumane; women prisoners are still routinely shackled during pregnancy and childbirth. The reason these women are shackled is for safety and security, despite the fact that shackling pregnant women is degrading, unnecessary and a violation of human rights some state still condone this practice.

In regards to the safety of children, a solution needs to be implemented immediately, not only because we are obliged to do so, but because it is the right thing to do. The compulsory and prolonged detention causes severe damage to children’s wellbeing and abuses international human rights treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This injustice needs to end now. We need to emphasise the human side of the story. Who are the people we have locked up in detention? Babies, unaccompanied young children and teenagers, parents who have lost children and children who have lost parents. These are all human beings. Detention of children is not an option. Children are entitled to their basic needs, including: their right to enjoy the

Skip Hollandsworth candidly explores the subjects of juvenile crime and sentencing in the electronic long form newspaper article, “The Prisoner”. The purpose of the essay is to inform the reader about juvenile sentencing and to persuade the audience that there are clear problems with aspects of the U.S. prison system. The article is easily accessible to a large audience because it is online. Hollandsworth takes into account that his audience, mostly consisting of Texas Monthly readers, may already have pre-established notions about the topic, so he considers other sides while still supporting his argument. Edwin Debrow, a preteen member of the Crips, committed a murder when he was 12-years old and received a 27-year sentence through the

Over the last half-century, the United States has turned more and more frequently to the use of incarceration as a form of punishment. Sentencing policies and stricter laws requiring mandatory minimums for certain offenses, no matter the conditions of the offense, have boosted the incarceration rate in this country to staggering heights. The typical issues that affect America’s prison systems are reflected in Jennifer Gonnerman’s book, Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett. Elaine Bartlett’s life, along with the lives of surrounding family and friends, is forever changed by her 16 years of incarceration. Elaine Bartlett is only one of many Americans that have been wronged by the cruel and unusual punishments implemented by a society claiming to have a fair, balanced, and equal justice system. A fair and balanced justice system that convicts people who carries the right amount of drugs in weight to have a mandatory incarceration for a minimum of 15 years to life, yet those who commit murder or rape may receive a lesser sentence. There is also the issue of transitioning back into society after being incarcerated for so many years. Incarceration does not just punish the offender; the offender’s family and friends are also negatively affected by the conviction and imprisonment of a loved one. Children could be put in the system or need to be raised by other members in the family. This could lead the children to deviate down the same path as their parent who

While solitary confinement is one of the most effective ways of keeping todays prisoners from conflict and communication, it is also the most detrimental to their health. According to NPR the reason for most solitary confinement units in America “is to control the prison gangs (NPR, 2011).” But that is not always the case. Sometimes putting a gang member in solitary reduces the shock and awe effect that it is supposed to have, when they start losing their minds. The prisoners kept in solitary confinement show more psychotic symptoms than that of a normal prisoner, including a higher suicide rate. Once a prisoner’s mental capacity to understand why he is in prison and why he is being punished is gone, there is no reason to keep said

While solitary confinement is one of the most effective ways of keeping todays prisoners from conflict and communication it is also the most detrimental to their health. According to an article by NPR.org the reason for most solitary confinement units in America “is to control the prison gangs (NPR, 2011).” Sometimes putting a gang member in solitary confinement reduces the effect that confinement is supposed to have when the confined inmate starts losing their mind. The prisoners kept in solitary confinement show more psychotic symptoms than that of a normal prisoner, including a higher suicide rate. Once a prisoner’s mental capacity to understand why he or she is in prison and why they are being punished is gone, there is no reason to

In reading and dissecting Nell Bernstein’s All alone in the world: Children of the incarcerated, many social issues and issues within current policies involving the incarcerated population were discussed. It is no secret that for some time now, the United States’ criminal justice system has been majorly flawed in more ways than one. Bernstein focuses and creates conversation around several difficulties that children of the incarcerated population experience. The central social problem presented in Bernstein’s novel is that children are being separated from their parents at crucial developmental stages in their lives. Many of the children experienced their parent(s) being incarcerated at very young ages; ages where having a parent to interact with on a daily basis is imperative, not only for developmental growth, but for emotional and social aspects as well. At these young ages, children are unable to understand and process what exactly is occurring and more importantly why their parents are being taken away from them.

Does solitary confinement cause severe mental issues? Are the mentally ill allowed to be put in solitary confinement? How bad can the mental issues possibly get if you don’t have a mental issue before being put in solitary confinement? All of these are questions some people ask, but really don’t care enough to dig deeper. What if your loved one or even you were to be put in solitary confinement? Wouldn’t you want to know what it was, wouldn’t you want to know what the affects of this punishment are?

Since the early 1800s, the United States has relied on a method of punishment barely known to any other country, solitary confinement (Cole). Despite this method once being thought of as the breakthrough in the prison system, history has proved differently. Solitary confinement was once used in a short period of time to fix a prisoners behavior, but is now used as a long term method that shows to prove absolutely nothing. Spending 22-24 hours a day in a small room containing practically nothing has proved to fix nothing in a person except further insanity. One cannot rid himself of insanity in a room that causes them to go insane. Solitary confinement is a flawed and unnecessary method of punishment that should be prohibited in the prison

With mandatory requirements, many detention centers lack the proper educators to educate the youth in detention centers due to the lack of training in educating students with learning and behavior disorders. When “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) was mandated by the federal government, children in the juvenile system lacked a portion of the state curriculum due to facilities not having the appropriate material such as textbooks, computer software, designated classrooms, and much more. Many delinquents suffer education wise, because of the shortcomings of the facilities they reside in currently. Another issue that contributes to youth having a lack of education in detention centers is due to the teacher of public schools and teachers of detention

Unfortantlley Karen was either busy or with clients and then I was busy helping people as well everytime we tried to talk about about the fredrick goldman order. In short she didn't have any specific styles in mind she wanted to order just best sellers in the white, grey, or black possibly one or two new designs. She doesn't want to get into any of the yellow gold or rose platted looking stuff. I know you wanted me to order that one band today so I apologize it didn't happen and if you need to do rush shipping it's totally my fault by the time I realized it it was too late. Duane extended the watch deadline until May the 26th at 2 P.M. so you aren't stressing about that. The new locket is coming in for Bicknell (ticket is in special

The detention Club is about a boy who wants his parents to understand him when he does something wrong. Wait let me explain so you can see his point of view. If a toddler put a fork in an outlet and you were the parent you would wrongly assume he/she were not thinking. Right? In reality he/she probably thought the fork would come to life. And obviously the parents are scared so they freak out! And they would ask the toddler “why did you do that” and then when he/she says “I don’t know” he/she has to go in the corner now and “think about what you’ve done” but e did it for a reason.

Although my paper on President George W. Bush has been completed early, you still seek punishment for not using time

According to Brad Plumer in the article Throwing Children in Prison Turns out To be a Really Bad Idea, “The United States still puts more children and teenagers in juvenile detention than any other developed nations in the world, with about 70,000 detained on any given day in 2010. And as it turns out, this is very likely a bad idea” (Plumer, 15). Juvenile delinquents are children under eighteen years old that commit illegal crimes. Juvenile delinquents are kids that are likely to come from an urban area where they lack education opportunities. They are defiant, hostile and impulsive. They started to commit crimes because of the lack of economic opportunities they were facing. For example, in urban areas they do not have any jobs