Introduction
The concept of imprisonment has for long been misconstrued for a place where offenders are thrown into as punishment but not for punishment and correction of behavior. Due to this, offenders are denied their human right and are treated inhumanely. Consequently the prison administrations deliberately fail to provide decent conditions especially to those prisoners who are perceived to be at significant risk of escape or creating disorder (Liebling & Arnold 2015). The administrators mistreat a particular group of inmates because of the offense they have been convicted of particular crimes. According to human rights defenders, there should be a clearly set of standards which should be used to measure and report the conditions in all prisons and that prison activities and procedures should not be hidden from the public. The legislation is one way of establishing rules and code of practice to be implemented and followed strictly by all concerned with prison management and administration (Coyle 2015).
Legal issues
All human beings have inherent values including offenders, as a result of all people no matter of their status, sex, class, and age should be accorded full respect. The punishment meted to an offender should be done in a manner that does not violate his/her human rights and values (Coyle 2015). All stakeholders in the administration of justice and correctional reforms should treat offenders as same moral beings, failure to which any violation of the rights of the criminal amounts to prosecution in the court of law. The prison management carries the highest responsibility in ensuring that offenders are treated properly, provided with decent conditions and the punishment administered in accordance with the code of practice and laid-down rules (Foraker 2016).
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The prison rape elimination Act is as legislation formulated to deal with the emerging cases of sexual assault in prisons. This whereby male prisoners are vulnerable to abuse by other inmates. Categories of vulnerable prisoners to sexual victimization include; young offenders, the weak ones, the mentally disabled, homosexuals, and those disliked by the staff. There are also rape cases in women prisoners though more pronounced in men (Foraker 2016). The Act is formulated to deal with complex issues of prisoner sexual assault comprehensively. Therefore the Act takes center stage in addressing the violation of offenders’ rights in this case study.
Ethical issues involved
The ideology of a correctional administration lies in the mission of the correctional facility that emphasizes in the proper treatment and security of the offenders. The administrators of a correctional facility should uphold the code of conduct. In this case study, the Wardens seems to be worried of the negative publicity given to their facility and the possible lawsuits facing the administration for violation of the offenders’ rights (Foraker 2016). The warden instructs his/her deputy to probably cover up the whole mess and ensure nothing is reported as far as the condition of the prison is concerned. This is highly unethical for administrators who are expected to correct and reform the offenders. The prisoners need to be treated in a humane and fair manner for them to internalize and accept their offense and therefore prepare themselves psychologically to reform (Liebling & Arnold 2015).
If the ethical issues are not addressed, then it brings negative psychological and physical harm to offenders emboldening their maladaptive behavior due to the inhumane conditions they have been subject to. Also, this goes against the goals and mission of a correction facility.
Correctional facilities should prevent sex assaults from taking place. This is because prisoners are not taken to prison as punishment but to be punished and reformed according to their offenses ( Task 2016 ). All persons including offenders should be treated with respect; in this regard prisoners’ rights should be protected and only accorded the punishment as defined by the court sentence. Some of the factors to consider as a deputy warden in dealing with the complicated situation to involve all stakeholders i.e. the officers and even the prisoners to getting a solution because this an issue of ethics and morals(Coyle 2015)
Use of force viz- a-viz policy to prevent assault
The criminal justice system has permitted the use of force in exceptional cases for example when a prisoner tries to escape or when prisoner turns violent and threatens the officer’s life or other inmates. But, the system prescribes policies and rules to be followed by the prison administrators and discourages the use of force because it’s against the correctional facility values and goals. Therefore the officers are allowed to exercise maximum caution when using force to prevent an assault in prison and this is to avoid violating rights with the aim protecting rights. Hence officers are caught up in a dilemma situation between risking liability by using excessive force to prevent an assault in prison. ( Liebling, A. & Arnold, H. 2015).
References
Coyle, A. (2015). A human rights approach to prison management. Criminal Behaviour And Mental Health , 13 (2), 77-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cbm.532
Foraker-Thompson, J. (2016). Book Review: Ethics in Crime and Justice: Dilemma and Decisions. Criminal Justice Review , 15 (2), 298-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/073401689001500237
Liebling, A. & Arnold, H. (2015). Prisons and their moral performance (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Task, C. (2016). Transforming Prisons, Restoring Lives: Final Recommendations of the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections (excerpted). Federal Sentencing Reporter , 28 (5).
