Should Prisoners Have Rights In Prison

As long as there has been some sort of prison system in the United States, there has always been a debate as to what role these prisons should play. Are they meant to punish those those have committed crimes, or to rehabilitate prisoners into a new and productive member of society and send them on their way? Some even believe prisons to be a holding place to keep the rest of society safe. All of this leads to the constitutional issue of how those who are incarcerated should be treated and what rights they may have. The big question is whether or not prisoners’ rights are being violated based on conditions and treatments in the prisons. Some people on one side of the issue believe prisons are essential to keep citizens safe, and are more than fair. An opinion on …show more content…
Essentially, this means that the prisoner does not have the right to complain if they committed a crime. They went against the law and therefore must pay the price. Another theory some people have is that conditions of prisons are inhumane and should not be able to house prisoners. Based on how criminals were treated in the past compared to now, variations in crimes and punishments have developed over time. Rules need to be adjusted, and morals and values have changed and been adjusted accordingly.This example shows that the Constitution can change with the times.
The issue of treatment of prisoners did not come up until the 1800s. Back then, this issue did not seem as important during the Constitutional Convention. During the time of the 1700s it was not unusual to keep prisoners in extreme and harsh conditions. Such include small, dark, and solitary spaces with low temperatures. The prisoners were subjected to violence and malnutrition. Later in that century,