Assess The Importance Of Preserving Human Dignity In The Criminal Justice System

In the United States, a primarily retributive, incapacitative, and deterrent approach to crime contributes to a large population of individuals being placed into the corrections system. Whether offenders are awaiting trial in jail, placed under probation, serving a prison sentence, or conditionally released on parole, threats to their human dignity exist on every level. Justice Kennedy emphasized the importance of preserving human dignity in criminal justice in his majority opinion for Brown v. Plata. Here, the Supreme Court ruled that overcrowding in California’s prisons deprived inmates of medical care and contributed to inhumane living conditions, violating the eighth amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment (Simon 2014). …show more content…
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, allows judges to sentence the most serious offenders to death. While on death row, the liberty of inmates is highly restricted as they can remain in maximum security facilities for years while the legal process required for execution is completed. The restriction of freedom and the agony associated with awaiting death can contribute to a deterioration of mental health. Krisberg, Marchionna, and Hartney describe how many death row inmates experience depression, schizophrenia, or hallucinations after long periods of confinement (2015). In addition to the psychological harm experienced, the execution itself brings physical pain. Though the use of lethal injection gives an appearance of a painless execution in comparison to previous methods such as electrocution or death by guillotine, Sarat describes how lethal injection can cause excruciating pain for the inmate if carried out improperly (2002). Thus, the mental and physical harm that capital punishment inflicts on offenders contradicts ideas of human dignity and welfare previously