Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
Supreme Court has held that deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of sexual assault violates inmates' rights under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. In response, the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 is designed to systematically study the incidence of offender-on-offender and staff-on-offender assault in correctional facilities throughout the United States and to propose standards for preventing these acts in the future. The act contains provisions that require withholding portions of federal funds from correctional agencies if they fail to comply with standards set by the attorney general of the United States (ACA Policies and Resolutions for Member Input, 2004). This paper provides an examination of the Prison Rape Elimination Act enacted in 2003, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview.
Today, there are more people behind bars in the United States than at any time in history, and the nation leads the world in the percentage of citizens it incarcerates (Mccormick, 2000). The costs associated with the prison industry in the U.S. are truly staggering. Just to maintain pace with an inmate population that grows by 50,000 to 80,000 a year, approximately, 1,000 new jails and prisons have been constructed since 1980, and approximately one new 1,000-bed facility needs to be added every week through most of this decade (Mccormick, 2000). At the same time, the costs of imprisoning adult offenders ranging from $25,000 to $70,000 a year, and the total bill for constructing each new cell climbing to $100,000, the yearly budget for building and maintaining existing prisons has increased over the last 20 years from $7 billion to almost $40 billion dollars (Schlosser, 1999). According to Stephen Donziger (1997), "Prisons are the largest public works program in America, providing housing, food, (and only sometimes) education, mental health services, and drug treatment" (p. 24). Unfortunately, prisoner demand continues to outpace prison supply and many corrections facilities across the country have become overcrowded and increasingly violent.
In recent years, human rights advocates have increasingly reported that constitutional violations occur on a regular basis in United States prisons (Edney, 2004). For example, a report published in May 2004 by Human Rights Watch entitled, "Prisoner Abuse: How Different are U.S. Prisons?" found that in recent years, U.S. prison inmates have been "beaten with fists and batons, stomped on, kicked, shot, stunned with electronic devices, doused with chemical sprays, choked, and slammed face first onto concrete floors by the officers whose job it is to guard them" (p. 5). As the result of such violent condition, some inmates have experienced smashed ribs, broken jaws, perforated eardrums, lost teeth, burn scars, as well as the psychological and emotional pain associated with such injuries; in fact, "Some have died" the report noted (Edney, 2004, p. 5). The report also suggested that this environment has also led to many corrections officials tacitly approving of inmate rapes and assaults, and even taking an active part as well: "Correctional officers will bribe, coerce, or violently force inmates into granting sexual favors, including oral sex or intercourse. Prison staff have laughed at and ignored the pleas of male prisoners seeking protection from rape by other inmates" (Edney, 2004, p. 5). Given the large number of prisoners who fall under the purview of the PREA, these incidents emphasize the need for such legislation.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, on December 31, 2004:
1.
2,135,901 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails; this figure represented an increase of 2.6% from year-end 2003, but this increase was less than the average annual growth of 3.4% since year-end 1995.
2.
There were an estimated 486 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents; this was an increase from 411 at year-end 1995.
3.
The number of women under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities reached 104,848, a 4.0% increase from year-end 2003; the number of men also increased, but at a slower rate (1.8%) for a total of 1,391,781.
4.
As of year-end 2004, there were 3,218 black male sentenced prison inmates per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,220 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 463 white male inmates per 100,000 white males.
As can be seen in Figure 1 below, during the period 1995 to 2001, the increasing number of violent offenders represented 63% of the total growth of the state prison population; 15% of the total growth was accounted for by the increasing number of drug offenders (Summary Findings, 2005).
Figure 1. Correctional Populations in the United States, Annual and Prisoners in 2004.
Violent offenses include murder, negligent and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, extortion, intimidation, criminal endangerment, and other violent offenses.
Property offenses include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft,
Although prisoner rape is violative of international, U.S., and state laws, the historic response to prisoner rape has been inadequate and indifferent. According to Jenness and Smythe, it was the specific intent of the PREA to address these issues. As Jenness and Smyth point out, "Current institutional policies regarding sexual violence are in need of reform and greater enforcement. The Prison Rape Elimination Act creates important incentives and standards,
ACA Web site www.aca.org. Standards and accreditation: ACA Facts: As part of its standards and accreditation principles, the American Correctional Association has worked to better enforce the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). "With the release of the national PREA standards in 2012, ACA and its certified auditors have played an important role in compliance for dozens of facilities in the fields of adult, juvenile, and community corrections" ("PREA," 2014). Standards are explicitly designed
This will protect not only the privacy of the individuals involved, but also their safety. Conclusion There are a variety of options I can consider in terms of entering and studying a prison population. In addition to entering the prison population itself, I would also consider the roles and interactions of the guards, head warden, nurses, visitors, lawyers, and priests where applicable. In terms of prison officials, the nature of my
Correcting Corrections Program for training correctional officers The rehabilitative nature of incarceration depends to a great extent on the environment that an inmate experiences. If an incoming prisoner enters a world filled with corruption, drugs, and crime the potential for rehabilitation is nonexistent. Given the prevalence of corruption among correctional officers (COs), including ties to organized crime and street/prison gangs, reinstating the goal of rehabilitation in prisons and jails will require a
In fact, while Great Britain is liberal in many areas, prison rights does not seem to be one of them. Prisoners commonly appeal conditions to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which has a much more liberal stance on human and inmate rights than those of Great Britain. For example, "On its 2005 visit to UK prisons, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), was highly
Prisoner Rights The purpose of this study is to explore the issue of prisoner's rights. The topic of prisoner's rights has been subject to a lot of attention due to the recent controversies which are discussed in the study. Prisoners are often treated unfairly in the United States of America despite the constitution specifically providing forbids that in the Eighth Amendment. There are a various means of unfair treatment which the prisoners
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now