Introduction
Due process in a criminal justice system refers to the constitutional right of prisoners to fair treatment. An entitlement to a hearing before an impartial judgment is an example of an ethical due process. Even though various countries have tried to revamp their correctional systems, fair treatment of prisoners is still a major problem. Segregation, denial of hearings, long prison terms and mandatory sentencing without parole are some of immoral practices that hamper appropriate due processes on the globe. Although prisoners are not entitled to full civil rights, correctional systems should be structured to promote basic human rights of prisoners. In contrary, unfair treatment, torture, deprivation of proper heath support, racial and ethnic discrimination are some of the major ethical issues that have dominated the correctional system of various countries on the globe. Therefore, this paper will evaluate ethical practices related to the supervision and treatment of prison populations. In this evaluation, concepts pertaining to US, Sweden, and China correctional systems will be explored.
Issues
Freedom to speech and socialization is a fundamental human right that has been infringed by incongruous due processes such as solitary confinement. In administrative segregation, a prisoner is confined into a room with extreme social isolation and deprivation of all basic environment stimuli. This is an unethical issue where the prisoner is not able to have a fruitful social bond with other inmates. For instance, an investigation carried out in a Tamms correctional prison in Illinois corroborated that 54 prisoners have been in solitary confinement for ten years ( Ashworth, 2015) . Even though administrative segregation is drafted under the US due processes, its harm to the prisoners’ mental capability raises questions over its violation of human rights. The American civil liberties union (ACLU) is one major organization that has been at the forefront of championing for the human rights of prisoners ( Ashworth, 2015) . This union postulates that solitary confinement is associated with mental III illnesses and weight loss ( Ashworth, 2015) . Therefore, denying prisoners their rights to socialization is unethical since it violates the sole purpose of behavior correction. If a prisoner stays in solitary confinement for longer, then his or her rehabilitation would not have been properly served since such an individual may end up being dangerous in the community. This issue is also dominant in the correctional system of China. For instance, in the year 2015, a Swedish international was arrested in China and his whereabouts since then have remained unknown ( Ashworth, 2015) . With no legal notification to his families, his socialization rights were denied. However, Sweden’s correctional system differs in huge margins to that of US and China where the constitution prohibits such practices.
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Even though probations and paroles are fair practices legally documented in the correction system, they infringe the community’s right to security. Every human being is entitled to security and safety. For instance, in 2013, 4751400 adults were on parole in the United States ( Drucker, 2013) . However, it is worth noting that releasing such individuals to the public endangers the security of the community. Even though most correctional systems have considered parole and probation an alternative to overcrowding in prisons, the practice poses harm to the community. This concept is dominant in China where overcrowding in prisons is a common problem ( Miao, 2013). In relation to this process, the Sweden correctional system considers prison to be a deterrence to crime and not a behavioral correction center. Based on this concept Sweden prefers short-term sentences to its law offenders ( Drucker, 2013) . As postulated by the Prison and Probation services, prison and detention facilities only have a maximum capacity of 6999 where other law offenders are provided with lenient sentences such as parole ( Ashworth, 2015) . Although probation sentences have been successful in alleviating crime, 4824 cases of misconduct have still been reported in the country ( Ashworth, 2015) . With this knowledge, it is easy to determine the ethical implication that parole sentences have in the community’s security.
Right to counsel and family attachment are major human right issues violated in due processes of various countries. The United States’ administrative segregation strategies deprive prisoners a chance to see their loved ones and also seek legal counsel. Besides solitary confinement, US state prisons are outsourcing some of their prisoners to other institutions to maximize their profit gains and reputation ( Ashworth, 2015) . By doing so, they deny prisoners an opportunity to have proper attachments with their families. According to the GAO report of 1999, 30% of female inmates in federal prisons were transferred to rehabilitation centers that are 500 miles far ( Kinner & Wang, 2014). Even though the transfer of inmates is legally warranted, its perpetuation for profit gains makes it unethical. In contrary to the United States correctional systems, China is renowned for its violation of prison rights. For instance, in 2009, Tianyong who was a human rights lawyer was arrested, and his family was only notified of the arrest after a month had elapsed ( Miao, 2013). Based on this concept, the UN committee against torture ordered the Chinese government in 2015 to review its provisions of the criminal law ( Ashworth, 2015) . However, countries like Sweden differ in wide margins when compared to the US and China correctional system. Cases of prisoner disappearance and denial of legal counsel are minimal in Sweden ( Ashworth, 2015) .
Cruel and unusual punishments are common occurrences in the correctional systems of many countries. With this concept, prisoners are deprived their right to proper health. Incarceration elevates the risk of exposure to other dangerous health problems. When exposed to solitary confinement, an HIV positive prisoner may be exposed to debilitating risks which may aggravate the infection ( Kinner & Wang, (2014). Solitary confinement is unhealthy for humans and may promote depression which is dangerous for HIV positive prisoners. For instance, a study carried out by NCCHC in 2002 corroborated that about 35% of the total population diagnosed with communicable diseases in the US were found to have been jailed at a particular period ( Kinner & Wang, 2014). With this statistical knowledge, it evident that prisons do not provide inmates with proper medical support as stipulated in the constitution. Torture to extract a confession is a common unethical practice in China’s prisons ( Miao, 2013). When prisoners are tortured in a long period, they are denied a chance to exercise their right to proper health. Also, in China, prisoners are subjected to forced labor which exposes ill prisoners to numerous health problems since there are denied proper diets to supplement the heavy tasks they are involved in.
Death penalty is regarded as a cruel punishment that deprives prisoners the fundamental right to life. Even though it is argued that it is morally justifiable, how many innocent individuals have been falsely convicted and punished? China and some states in the US such as Florida are renowned for capital punishment ( Kinner & Wang, 2014). This unusual punishment draws ethical issues since in some cases, it is carried out for political mileage and under a skewed justice system. Contrary to the US and China, Sweden did abolish this cruel punishment in 1979 since it did not have any huge impact on crime deterrence ( Kinner & Wang, 2014).
Due to the dominance of cruel punishments such as solitary confinement, prisoners are refrained from exercising their right to healthy food. With a high tendency of prisoners being subjected to torture, their access to healthy foods is also restricted. Based on a survey carried out in the US federal prisons, 90% of the foods available for incarcerated individuals violated the nutrition standards set up in the country ( Coyle & Fair, 2018). However, it is worth noting that these foods are purchased through corrupt channels which makes the whole process unethical ( Coyle & Fair, 2018). Us, China and Sweden are tied to the common unethical practices when it comes to the nutrition of inmates.
The correctional systems of China, United States and Sweden have different impacts on human rights. Many of the serious human right violations in China and US occur under the realms of their criminal justice system. Racial disparities in sentencing, unhealthy prison conditions and subjection to forced labor are some of the practices that have negative implications on human rights. The US and China’s correctional system promote poor nutritional standards in prisons which as a result violates a right to safe food ( Coyle & Fair, 2018). Corporal punishment is another controversial issue in the correctional system of United States and China that violates the basic human right of life. However, recent reforms in China and the US have revamped the criminal justice system where the life of prisoners is considered a priority. The correction system of Sweden, on the other hand, abides by the human rights of law offenders. The government provides inmates with proper nutrition, housing and health support which resonates with the human rights to safe food, safety, and health ( Coyle & Fair, 2018).
Of the three correctional systems, China's criminal justice violates the ethical rights of its law offenders by a higher degree. The reluctance of china’s law enforcers to adhere to the postulations of UN regarding the perpetuation of unusual punishments is unethical. Also considering that there are numerous cases of prisoners being denied a proper chance to seek legal counsel makes china’s system susceptible to the ethical violation of its citizen’s rights ( Miao, 2013). By considering the correctional systems of US and Sweden, China is the only country leading in the number of executions. For instance, in the year 2016, Amnesty International reported that China had executed 1032 people ( Miao, 2013). Also of the three countries, China is the only nation that still subjects its prisoners to extreme hard labor. With this knowledge, ethical violation of prisoners’ rights is likely to occur.
Conclusion
Even though numerous countries have restructured their correctional systems, violation of human rights is still a problem. Overcrowding in prisons, heavy issuance of parole sentences, poor health support, food, and administrative segregation are some of inappropriate practices that are common in prisons. With the debilitating treatment of prisoners, their rights to health, quality food, safety and freedom of socialization is violated. Although some of these practices are legally regulated, corruption and negative perception towards prisoners is the sole cause of ethical violations in rehabilitation centers. It is also worth noting that these practices have negatively affected the society by promoting mental illnesses among the rehabilitated inmates. Major inspirations can be drawn from Sweden’s correctional system where the rights of law offenders are considered important.
References
Ashworth, A. (2015). Sentencing and criminal justice . Cambridge University Press.
Coyle, A., & Fair, H. (2018). A human rights approach to prison management: Handbook for prison staff . Institute for Criminal Policy Research Birkbeck, University of London.
Drucker, E. (2013). A plague of prisons: The epidemiology of mass incarceration in America . New Press, The.
Kinner, S. A., & Wang, E. A. (2014). The case for improving the health of ex-prisoners. American journal of public health , 104 (8), 1352-1355.
Miao, M. (2013). Capital punishment in China: A populist instrument of social governance. Theoretical Criminology , 17 (2), 233-250.
