Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
Supreme Court has held that delierate indifference to the sustantial 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 y the attorney general of the United States (ACA Policies and Resolutions for Memer Input, 2004). This paper provides an examination of the Prison Rape Elimination Act enacted in 2003, followed y a summary of the research in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview.
Today, there are more people ehind ars in the United…...
mlabibliography of additional resources to accompany the video. These resources, like the other materials published by the NIC, are available free of charge from the NIC Information Center at 1- [HIDDEN] and on the NIC Web site at www.nicic.org (Halley, 2005). Besides the foregoing programs, Swisher and Whitfield (2005) report that the NIC has responded to these mandates by, among other things, using its distance learning infrastructure to educate corrections officials across the country on various aspects of the PREA as they specifically apply to them.
The objectives of NIC's long-term distance learning initiative are to deliver timely and meaningful information to corrections professionals; to date, the NIC has provided up-to-date information through its satellite/Internet broadcasts. "Local classroom programs that use satellite and Internet technology make it convenient and less costly for thousands of professionals to participate at hundreds of sites across the country," the authors note, and "These broadcasts, most recently on the Prison Rape Elimination Act, are interactive and allow practitioners to learn from experts in the field" (Swisher and Whitfield 81).
The NIC also maintains this production, and other previously broadcasted features, on the PREA on the NIC Web site at www.nicic.org. In addition, the NIC offers so-called "Intensive Workshops" that provide corrections professionals with an overview of: the PREA law; the roles of federal agencies, Presidential Commission, and Review Panel; the speakers representing these agencies and correctional administrators' responses (Tentative Major Session Schedule, 2004). These targeted broadcasts concerning the PREA include:
1.
"How the PREA Affects You." This is a three-hour program that was originally broadcast on July 21, 2004; this production provides a comprehensive overview of the PREA of 2003; explores its potential operational impact on prisons, jails and community correctional facilities; identifies available resources; describes the legal liabilities of PREA; and discusses implementation strategies.
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 PEA 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 ape Elimination Act creates important incentives and standards, encouraging states to respond more responsibly" (p. 490). In sum, despite the adoption of the recommendations by the National Prison ape Elimination Commission, PEA represents a step in the right direction in modern correctional management.
By contrast, in her study, "Introduction: Sexuality, Criminalization, and Social Control," Sears (2010) reports that, "Although PEA addresses a clear and pressing problem (sexual violence in prison), observers have criticized its primary focus on violent rape between male prisoners and its relative neglect of staff sexual…...
mlaReferences
Jenness, V. & Smyth, M. (2011, Spring). The passage and implementation of the Prison Rape
Elimination Act: Legal endogeneity and the uncertain road from symbolic law to instrumental effects. Stanford Law & Policy Review, 22(2), 489-493.
Sears, C. (2010, Spring). Introduction: Sexuality, criminalization, and social control. Social Justice, 37(1), 1-5.
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 ape Elimination Act (PEA). "With the release of the national PEA 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" ("PEA," 2014).
Standards are explicitly designed to improve the welfare of multiple stakeholders. They are said to "enhance correctional practices for the benefit inmates, staff, administrators, and the public" ("Standards," 2014). Standards are not simply for the good of the public or corrections officers: ideally, they serve a rehabilitative and restorative function as well for inmates and for the community at large.
Different standards exist for different types of institutions; also there is a difference between mandatory and non-mandatory standards.
Would I seek accreditation?
There are many benefits to…...
mlaReferences
PREA. (2014). ACA. Retrieved from:
Standards. (2014). ACA. Retrieved from:
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 ights (ECH), 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 critical of the observed lack of time out of cells, the sharing of cells, the very small size of cells, and the lack of exercise and activity" (Eady, 2007, p. 272). Thus, prisons in Great Britain have not progressed nearly as much as many wish they had in the area of human rights. Another writer puts it more succinctly. She writes, "Although England has a clearly identifiable prisoners' rights lobby, the political impetus towards legislative reform remains conspicuously absent (Lazarus,…...
mlaReferences
Beck, a.J., Harrison, P.M., & Hughes, T.A. (2004, July). Implementing the 2003 prison rape elimination act in juvenile residential facilities. Corrections Today, 66, 26+.
Budzenski, S. (2006). Tug of war: The Supreme Court, Congress, and the circuits -- the Fifth Circuit's input on the struggle to define a prisoner's right to religious freedom in Adkins v. Kaspar. St. John's Law Review; Vol. 80 Issue 4, 1335-1360.
Carlton, B. (2006). Review of intractable: Hell has a name, life inside Australia's first super-max prison. Social Justice, 33(4), 191+.
Chin, a. (2003). Increasing the accountability of state actors in prison systems - a necessary enterprise in guaranteeing the Eighth Amendment rights of prison inmates. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 93(4), 913+.
Prisoner ights
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 are exposed to. The prisoners have been facing various problems and are exposed to poor living environment. They have been treated harshly by the prison guards and the conditions of the prisons are extremely poor. Prisons are overcrowded which adds to the poor living conditions that the prisoners have to cope up with. Many of the critics of the prisoners' rights demand that they should be given only the basic rights. However they should work in order to cover their…...
mlaReferences
"Update: Prisoners' Rights." Issues & Controversies On File: n. page. Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services, 17 Nov. 2006. Web.
Carmical, Casey. "Capital Punishment Is Morally Justified." The Ethics of Capital Punishment. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. At Issue. Rpt. from "The Death Penalty: Morally Defensible?" Casey's Critical Thinking Jan. 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.
"Prisoners' Rights." Issues & Controversies On File: n. page. Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services, 3 Oct. 2003. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. .
"Death-Row Prisoners and Organ Donation (sidebar)." Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services, 28 June 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. .
The third conviction could serve as the third strike for California's anti-recidivism statute, thereby triggering a minimum 25-year sentence. Andrade was convicted of both counts of petty theft and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison. After exhausting his appeals in the California legal system, Andrade filed a petition for habeas corpus, arguing his sentence violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment because it was disproportional to the underlying crime. The United States District Court for the Central District of California rejected Andrade's petition, but the Ninth Circuit agreed with Andrade on appeal. The State of California sought review of the Ninth Circuit's decision, and the Supreme Court ultimately resolved the dispute in favor of the state. Basically, the Court announced that it was not enough for a state court to err when applying an anti-recidivism statute; instead, without using…...
mlaReferences
Freeman-Longo, R.E. (2001). Revisiting Megan's law and sex offender registration: prevention or problem. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from SoHopeful.org
Web site: http://www.sohopeful.org/international/facts/files/revisitingmegan.pdf
Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976).
Hennessey, M. (2005). Reducing criminal recidivism. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Drum Major Institute for Public Policy
Ngos & Human Rights in Africa
Non-governmental organizations have had an unprecedented effect on international human rights in the African system. NGOs have been recognized for their forward thinking ability in improving international human rights in Africa.
NGOs participation in the African Human Rights system has been in two ways. he first is through international and government commissions like the OAU, with some having rights to participate in public meetings. his presents NGOs with the responsibility of promoting human rights by national training programmes, raising profile of commissions in rural areas, disseminating materials, and facilitating and promoting visits to nations.
his research carries out an in depth analysis of the contributions of NGOs in creating changes to human rights in the African system. his is by defining the constitution, progress, and history of NGOs in Africa, and the different contributions made in achieving international human rights. his explores the rise of NGOs in…...
mlaThe main challenge in achievement of equal human rights across all genders in the African continent has been the deep-rooted culture and traditions. In the case of Zimbabwe, Acts like Domestic Violence Act of 2006 and the Legal Age of Majority Act of 1982, represent acts that give women rights culturally unacceptable and which do not build sustainable homes. (Mpofu, P. 2012, "Cultural Capital and the Sustainability of NGOs' Development Programs in Zimbabwe: An Integrative Approach," Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 93).
Peter, V.T. 1999, "NGOs and human rights: Sources of justice and democracy," Journal of International Affairs, vol. 52, no. 2, p.493.
Wiredu, K. (2004). A Companion to African Philosophy. Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, p.23.
Ultimate Punishment
For a long time now, the death penalty has been one of the most disputed and debated issues in criminal justice. This is for a reasonable purpose as it is the ultimate punishment. The death penalty is used for crimes which are deemed most abhorrent and abominable. Gacy killed more than thirty individuals. McVeigh murdered 168 people in the city of Oklahoma. More so, Brisbon told a betrothed couple to have their last kiss and then went on to slay them at the outset of the 1970s, and he even continued to murder people while in prison for such criminalities. In a rightful manner, the society mandates culpability for these gruesome actions, and several states the delinquent loses the right to live and subsist among others if he or she is convicted.
For most part of America's history, the death penalty was frequently employed as a chastisement for murder as…...
mlaReferences
Turow, S. (2003). Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections On Dealing with The Death Penalty. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Current standards are based on male offenders and viewed as inappropriate for non-violent female offenders, who constitute the majority of incarcerated women. This also explains the rise of imprisonment for economic crimes, which involve a disproportionate number of women. AI also recommended against criminalizing drug-dependent pregnant women, as doing so had driven dependent women underground instead of towards treatment and this reduced access to prenatal care of treatment. Racism has still been another problem. It has been observed that African-American women have been sentenced to prison at a much higher rate than women of Northern European origin (Ketcham).
AI also reported that 70% of correctional employees and guards of incarcerated women are men and that as high as 80% of these women have been survivors of abuse by the men in those institutions (Ketcham 2001). These survivors naturally do not feel secure in the correctional institutions. In response, AI recommended…...
mlaBibliography
De Santis, Marie. (2000). Advocating for Women in the Criminal Justice System: Introduction. Women's Justice Center. http://www.justicewomen.com/handbook/intro.html
Gowdy, Voncile B. et al. (1998). Report on the LEAA Task Force on Women. U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reports/98Guides/wcjs98/wcjspdf.pdf
Ketcham, Linda. (2001). Women in the Criminal Justice System. Wisconsin Women's Network. http://www.womensnetwork.org/womenandcriminaljustice.html
Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. (2000). Women in the Criminal Justice System. Item 6 provisional agenda. Offenders and Victims: Accountability and Fairness in the Justice Process. http://www.ungin.org/Documents/congr10/12e.pdf
Crimes Committed Against Persons in the United States
The United States is one of the world's super powers. Like any other country, it experiences the challenge of crimes committed against people too. The FBI has shown that the rate of violent crimes committed in the US has been declining for the past two decades. Violent crimes can be classified into types that include rape, murder, aggravated assault, and robbery. Statistically, the rate of crimes committed to people in 2016 decreased by 1.1% when it is compared with those reported in 2015. The rates of crimes against people vary across regions. For example, the FBI reports that in 2016, there was a positive change in the rate of 2.0% in murder cases in Northeast region and 1.2% in Midwest (Federal Bureau of Investigation). Therefore, this research paper examines the different types of crimes committed against persons in the US, their characteristics, and…...
For instance, according to Begley, "Men who were promiscuous back then were more evolutionarily fit since men who spread their seed widely left more descendants. By similar logic, evolutionary psychologists argued, women who were monogamous were fitter; by being choosy about their mates and picking only those with good genes, they could have healthier children" (2009, p. 52). Although modern men and women may not look like Cro-Magnums, they all want to act like them deep down inside because of these primordial drives. In sum, Begley concludes that, "We all carry genes that led to reproductive success in the Stone Age, and that as a result men are genetically driven to be promiscuous and women to be coy, that men have a biological disposition to rape and to kill mates who cheat on them, and that every human behavior is 'adaptive' -- that is, helpful to reproduction" (emphasis added)…...
mlaReferences
Begley, S. (2009, June 29). Why do we rape, kill and sleep around? Newsweek, 153(26), 52.
Black's law dictionary. (1991). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
Druzin, B.H. & Li, J.C. (2011, Spring). The criminalization of lying: Under what circumstances, if any, should lies be made criminal? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 101(2), 529-540.
Duke, S. (2009, April 27). Kinsey: Deviancy is the new normal. The New American, 25(9), 33-35.
And such an event, unfortunately, is all too possible, as evidenced by a review done by Bedau and adelet in 1987. The authors used a variety of published and unpublished sources to locate information on potential capital cases in the United States during the twentieth century. Of the cases identified, Bedau and adelet found 350 persons who had been wrongfully convicted of potentially capital offenses between 1900 and 1985. Of these, 139 were sentenced to die (Haines, 1996, p. 87-88). Thus, it is evident that capital punishment can end up reflecting very poorly on a society that practices it, in more ways than one.
The other reason why capital punishment can be said to be socially unjust is because, all too often, it is imposed indiscriminately against the poor and underprivileged sections of society, who also lack the means of better representation. This fact has been addressed in a wide…...
mlaReferences
Borg, M.J., & Radelet, M.L. (2000). The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates.
Annual Review of Sociology. P. 43.
Fattah, E.A. (1981). Is Capital Punishment a Unique Deterrent? A Dispassionate Review of Old and New Evidence. Canadian Journal of Criminology. Vol. 23:3, p. 291-311.
Haines, H.H. (1996). Against Capital Punishment: The Anti-Death Penalty Movement in America, 1972-1994. New York: Oxford University Press.
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