Are Prisons Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Within the history of organized societies, there has always been a need to remove some members of society from the population because their behavior/actions are unacceptable; in modern terms, we would call these individuals criminals. These criminals need to be watched, and an effort must be made to improve their behavior if they are to return to society as productive individuals- with this end in mind, the concept of the penitentiary first emerged several centuries ago (Meskell, 1999). With time, however, the charge has been leveled that prisons constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment. This essay will dispute that assertion with facts and a logical approach to the "cruel and unusual" argument.

First, the general concept of prisons, and indeed prisons that are properly secured and administered are not in and of themselves cruel or unusual; rather, these institutions offer educational opportunities, health care, spiritual guidance, counseling, recreation and the like in an attempt to give the prisoner a chance to improve their likelihood of a fruitful life after release from prison (Thies, 2000). When prisons become cruel and unusual punishment is when the inmates are allowed to run the asylum, so to speak. If violence, chaos and corruption are tolerated by prison staff and management, and disease and abuse are running rampant, then yes, the prison can and usually does become a bastion of cruelty. Something should also be said for the issue of torture, especially in the case of war prisoners of late. While the claim is often made that torture is necessary as a valid interrogation technique for prisoners of war, there still needs to be a fundamental decency within the prison that protects the human rights of everyone, guilty of crimes or not (Ward, 2004). Without this, society overall becomes cruel and unusual.

In summary, what can be said about the assertion that prisons are cruel and unusual is that while there are always exceptions to the rule and abuses of accepted norms, the properly functioning prison is necessary in society and far from cruel or unusual in its nature and intent.

References

Meskell, M. W. (1999). An American Resolution: The History of Prisons in the United States from 1777 to 1877. Stanford Law Review, 51(4), 839.
Thies, J. M. (2000, April). Prisons and Host Communities: DEBUNKING THE MYTHS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY RELATIONS. Corrections Today, 62, 136.
Ward, G. (2004). Punishing for a Living: More on the Cementing of Prisons. Social Justice, 31(1-2), 35+.