Prisoner’s rights

Many people believe that after a person is in prison, they no longer have any rights. This is far from the truth. Even inmates no matter their crime are protected by the United States Constitution. All US citizens have rights under the Constitution and as citizens we should understand the rights we have. To ensure you know your rights if you have been arrested you should contact a criminal defense lawyer in your state. 

 

The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides inmates with the right to be free from inhuman conditions as this would be “cruel and unusual punishment”. In 1848, this terminology was defined to mean that punishments that were considered “cruel and unusual punishment” would be "drawing and quartering, emboweling alive, beheading, public dissecting, and burning alive," to name a few. Today, any punishment that can be deemed cruel and unusual can be deemed a violation of person’s rights under the Eighth Amendment. Today, some of the punishments include fire hazards, lack of facilities, and the infestation of vermin.

 

Other prisoner rights include the right to be free from sexual crimes, which includes sexual harassment, the right to voice their complaints or concerns about their treatment, the right of access to the courts to voice their complaints, and disabled prisoners have rights under the American with Disabilities Act. Prisoners also have the right to medical/mental health care, right to be free from racial segregation, and the right to be free from unauthorized and intentional deprivation of their personal property by prison officials.

 

Your criminal defense attorney may be able to help you receive compensation for damages if your rights under the Constitution have been violated.