Studying law and inmates guides helps them understand their rights. By knowing these rules, inmates can stand up for themselves and get fair treatment. It’s also important because laws might change, and inmates need to know how it affects them. Overall, learning about these laws helps inmates feel more in control and able to handle their legal issues.
So, it’s important for inmates to study legal updates and guides to know their rights. Here’s a review to help you understand.
Assault and Excessive Violence
Your Rights
- According to the Constitution, officers have a legal obligation to protect inmates from attacks by other inmates. Apart from that, you are also not allowed to use excessive violence or intimidation towards inmates.
- Officers may use violence at a reasonable level only to carry out conditioning and good intentions. If officers use violence with the intention of harming inmates, then it becomes a violation.
- Officers who remain silent even though they know that an inmate has received an attack could be considered to be violating the Constitution. Another thing that is considered a violation is if there are unreasonable conditions that cause an attack between inmates, such as inadequate security facilities, a space that is too narrow, or a door that does not lock properly.
What Can Be Done?
When you are attacked by other inmates or even officers, you can appeal with all existing levels of appeal. You must know that there are limits that must be followed and that you will not be punished if you miss them, so pay attention carefully.
When you are absolutely sure that you are in danger of being attacked, talk to trusted staff, such as a spiritual teacher or mental health department.
Religious Discrimination in Prisons
Your Rights
- There are special protections set out in federal law for inmates who wish to engage in religious practices. When there are rules, policies, and systems or practices in prison that clearly hinder your worship process for the religion you follow, then prison officials must ensure that the implementation of these policies is in the greater interest of the state, therefore it is deemed necessary to make it mandatory for inmates. For the sake of mutual security and safety, and there is no other way that can be done.
When officers cannot ensure this, then they are obliged to provide accommodation related to religious worship that you believe in.
- There are many special factors related to religion, for example having to provide food with poor conditions such as having to be halal and the like, providing worship services and facilities, and access to teachers or priests.
Officers will also be asked to give religious adherents permission to use their religious books, religious clothing, head coverings and other accessories or certain religious appearance conditions are required such as keeping long hair and a long beard, or even going bald.
- There must be no coercion of beliefs carried out by officers. It is not permissible to punish inmates who refuse to take part in activities that have a religious element, especially if it is different from their beliefs.
- There should be no special preferences in dealing with inmates, for example treating inmates who adhere to a particular religion worse than adherents of other religions which may be due to social sentiment.
What to do
- File your complaint with the Special Litigation Division of the US Department of Justice.
- Immediately contact the ACLU in that state to get more information.
Pregnant and Imprisoned
Your Rights
- You are free to determine your stance regarding the practice of abortion, whether you can do it or not.
- Have the right to receive care before birth, starting from pregnancy, giving birth, to care after giving birth.
- There must be no forced payment or extortion of money if you have not received adequate birth care.
- You may not be shackled. In some policies, shackles are not enforced for women who are pregnant, giving birth or who have just given birth. The practice of shackling has even been deemed unconstitutional in some states. You can find anti-shackle related papers from the ACLU that contain more detailed information regarding this.
- Have the right to refuse the use of contraception or sterilization during your pregnancy.
What to do?
- Ask for help from medical staff if you are not receiving or being offered appropriate pregnancy health services while in prison.
- Try to document whatever you experience. Always make written requests regarding other health services and also requests for desired abortion procedures, don’t forget to always keep a copy.
Not only that, it is important to keep a list of people you have contacted and talked to before, note down everything they talked about, even include the place and time you talked in detail.
- Not only do you request medical treatment, you can also make a complaint if you don’t get it as needed. When your complaint is rejected, you can appeal at various levels. Don’t forget to find out the deadline for filing a complaint so you don’t miss it. You can still find all this information in the very informative prison or law and inmates guides guide book.
Receiving and Sending Letters in Prison
Your Rights
- Inmates have the right to receive and send letters in prison according to the provisions of the Constitution. However, there is a need for prior inspection or even censorship of certain parts of the letter for the special security purposes required.
- Whether or not there is a privilege will determine the level of the officer’s ability to censor or examine existing letters. Officials have the right to open non-special category letters, such as business letters, letters from family or friends even in your absence.
Even without a warrant, officers can still check incoming emails to carry out security procedures required by prisons.
- Outgoing or incoming privileged mail can still be censored for certain security considerations. However, censorship should not be carried out just because the officers don’t like the content, for example because the content is in the form of criticism of officers or prison services that are deemed unsatisfactory.
- Letters containing material downloaded on the internet and assisted in searching by outsiders may not be prohibited from entering by officers.
What to do?
- If you believe that your rights to receive and send letters have been violated, you can file an appeal immediately using the available appeal levels. Apply quickly because there are applicable rules regarding the submission deadline.
That is a review of law and inmates guides which are useful for knowing your inmates’ rights while in prison and how to defend yourself if your rights are not fulfilled. Hope it is useful.
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