Dehumanization in the America’s prisons hinders some of the offenders from getting justice. Importantly, some inmates serve long sentences for nonviolent crimes such as minor drug offenses (Bibas, 2015). This aspect leads to overcrowding in the America’s prisons, which may affect the health of the prisoners negatively. Ideally, some inmates suffer from disease and disorders that arise due to overcrowding. Dehumanization leads to an increase in violence, which violates their legal and justice rights (Slambrouck, 1998). Intimates who face mistreatments such as brutal beating, assaults from federal officers and fellow intimates do not get justice. Such injustice in the America’s prisons seems to be open knowledge and tolerated by some high ranking officials.
Most importantly, some intimates are sent into solitary confinement due to their race, political views or social class. In incarceration, the prisoner is denied the right to make phone calls, interact with fellow inmates, and their emails and reading materials are censored and scrutinized. These actions violate the rights of the prisoner making them undergo both physical and psychological torture. Further, the guards fail to protect the inmates when they experience abuse from fellow prisoners. Notably, sexual assault is a significant problem of dehumanization, yet the victims do not get justice.
Possible solutions
The U.S should examine both the criminal justice system and prison system in a bid to establish fairness in sentence terms and possibly eliminate dehumanization. Offenders who are charged with noncriminal crimes should face shorter jail terms to address the issue of overcrowding. Guards who assault inmates, as well as prisoners who mistreat fellow inmates, should be subjected to criminal justice. Also, dehumanization based on race, political affiliation or gender should be discouraged.
Reference
Bibas, S. (2015). Prisoners without Prisons. (Cover story). National Review, 67(17), 27-30.
Slambrouck, V.P. (1998). US prisons--under pressure--show increase in violence. (Cover story). Christian Science Monitor.
