Deserved Prisoner Liberties

Every American has the right to Due Process. Due Process is the right to a fair and speedy trial. There are countless detainees that are being held in pre-trial detention for well over a year. Their due process has been denied and this is unacceptable as stated in the United States Constitutional Amendments.

Although people in our prison systems may have done wrong, that does not invalidate their need for good living conditions. Good in this sense meaning clean, temperature controlled, and observed. 

Doctors should be readily available to attend to any medical emergencies or needs during a prisoner’s sentence. Lack of access to medical care is a major issue and can prevent loved ones from connecting with their families again once their sentence has been served. 

Of all times one may feel like they need faith is while in prison to repent for their wrongs. Every American has freedom of religion in their First Amendment rights. Denying this right goes against American standard. To lose their faith is to lose a part of themselves. Out of all the things that people lose in jail, their faith should never be one. 

One of the four main purposes of prison systems is rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is not something that is easy, criminal or not. Rehabilitation centers prioritize mental health, as usually mental health contributes to the outcomes that one has created in their life. To appropriately perform the fourth purpose of prisons, proper mental health care should be present to help those rehabilitate effectively to re-enter society with a better mindset than once had before. 

As technology keeps progressing, so should our prison systems. Phone calls are great and worked for many years prior to video chat services existing. Now we are in a digital age and have convenient and simple means of virtually talking to each other. This should be incorporated in prisons to allow family members more intimacy in their allotted conversation times. This intimacy serving not just for the prisoners, but also their loved ones that have been externally affected.