The question proposed to the student by the Professor was:
As the warden of a prison, how can you ensure the rights of inmates regarding religion, rehabilitation, and medical
treatment are acknowledged and honored within the prison you oversee?
The students response to this question was:
It is essential that the warden of a prison takes steps to ensure the rights of inmates regarding religion, rehabilitation, and medical treatment. This can be done in numerous ways. First, wardens can check on inmates
to ensure they have proper materials to practice their religion (ie bible, torah, etc.). I once saw a show regarding inmates with psychological issues. In an episode, a prisoner was being watched closely and in lock down to ensure his safety. He was freaking out because he did not get to have his bible with him. This was a
measure taken so that he could not harm himself. I found this to be a bit unrealistic, however, it was the prisons policy. I believe in an instance like this he should at least get to have an audio recording of a service or
even one page at a time of his bible. He was threatening to harm himself because he wanted access to his
religious materials. Also, it is
important to keep inmates seperate that have outward beliefs (regarding religion) that may cause serious conflict. Inmates should be asked if
they have a need for segregation or seperation due to religious beliefs. Regarding rehabilitation, many prisons have hired more pyschiatrists
to help inmates with their mental issues in order to better rehabilitate someone. It is sad that many inmates with mental health issues will commit
crimes right after release and they wind up back in the same position, in prison. Wardens can also take a look at statistics of those with drug related
crime, etc. where they may have had an addiction contributing to them ending up in prison. This way services can be offered to inmates prior to release. In addition, if the prison houses lots of inmates that will end up back in society, there are often
times trade based and educational classes. In regards to medical treatment, it is
important the warden establish some sort of rules of triage. What I mean by this is that it is important most urgent issues get handled or treated first.
For example: an inmate is
complaining of an ear infection but then someone attempts to commit suicide. Although the ear infection issue was reported first, it its obvious the person at risk of potentially harming themself again is at a higher
need for treatment. Overall, it is essential all inmates are treated fairly regardless of their need
for treatment, rehabilitation, and religious beliefs. Although sometimes one thing to someone may seem absurd, those beliefs to someone else
may be very meaningful and
impactful. In order to create the best possible environment for inmates, each persons individuals needs must
be assessed on a case by case basis.
Do you agree or disagree with this students response? Is there something that you would like to add to make the students point more valid? Please use the course text materials as a reference
(Title: The American Criminal Justice System, 16th Edition Author: Cole, Smith, & Dejong
Publisher: Cengage
ISBN: 9781337558907
Title: Effective Communication in Criminal Justice
Author: Grubb & Hemby Publisher: SAGE ISBN: 9781506392134)
