Bibliography6
Abstract
There is many court cases that are heard by the court system on a daily basis. Some of these court cases are either being heard for the first time, or being appealed to a higher power of court. The laws are made to be followed, and obeyed in the country. The United States Constitution was honored to be upheld for the citizens, and for the professional authority of our nation. In some cases the courts will have to decide if laws were upheld, and rights were not violated in the state and local government as well.
In the following case of Disability Law Center v. Massachusetts Department of Corrections in 2007 the same instances were brought forth. The case is based on whether or not issues occurred in the DOC that may have caused harm to the inmates. The inmates who had committed suicide were all mentally ill inmates. They were put in confinement for lengthy periods. The violations that were filed against the DOC was stemmed from these incidents. The court will decide the outcome of this case, and what decision if any will be applied.
In the court case concerning the Disability Law Center versus the Massachusetts of the Department of Correction a lawsuit was brought forth. On March 8, 2007 the papers were filed under a complaint from the Law Center against the Massachusetts DOC. The law suit was based on how mentally ill inmates were handled in prison. The prison had seen an increase in the number of mentally ill inmates who committed suicide. The incidents were investigated concerning the well-being of those inmates.
There were several complaints and violations filed concerning the Department of Corrections in Massachusetts. “The violations were in regards to the Disability Act, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment Rights’ of the United States Constitution”. The violations of these Amendments were a federal regulations, and are to be upheld by the Criminal Justice System. The Department of Corrections should have researched into the best way to stop and control their suicide rate among the mentally ill prisoners.
The complaint filed in court was in regards to the correctional facility placing the mentally ill incarcerated individual into a confined area that was segregated, and left them there for long periods. This type of reform did not help the mentally ill inmates, and therefore the inmates had chosen to take their own lives. The charges of violating inmates Constitutional Amendments, and violating the federal regulations and law were obtained in this matter. The high amount of suicide reports of the mentally ill inmates is what yielded the investigation into the incidents.
In over a two year period from November of 2004 to March of 2007 over ten inmates had taken their own lives while being detained in the segregated confinement area. That is a high suicide rate for that short of a time frame. The settlement agreement was under review, and was finally decided at the end of 2011. The parties agreed upon the settlement amount for the parties who filed the complaint and violations.
After the settlement was approved there were stipulations in regards to the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. The stipulations was that the DOC had to restrain from putting the mentally ill inmates into a confinement of segregation for long periods of time. The DOC was required to find better alternatives than confinement of the mentally ill inmates. The Department of Corrections had followed the orders by the court, and found other alternative ways to detain the mentally ill inmates. The change and alternative uses has proven to be a successful decision, and there have been a substantial amount of decrease in the self-harm behavior of the mentally ill inmates.
In the beginning of February 2012 the court had a meeting concerning the settlement that was to be awarded. The reason was based on the Prison Reform Act, and the court needed to decide if the Reform Act would allow the settlement to be awarded by that specific court. “The following month in March 2012 the court held another meeting regarding the Prison Reform Act, and made their final decision on April 12,2012” . The court had found after reviewing the Prison Reform that the settlement was allowed to be awarded and litigations in place. The outcome of the case was final, and after the end of that hearing the case was closed for further discussion.
The outcome of the court case was well contended, and very resourceful. The settlement was awarded appropriately and changes were put in place to keep the Constitutional Amendments, and federal laws followed. The mentally ill is being handled differently, and in a manner that does not violate them or their rights. The changes have been proven to be helping ensure the safety of those inmates that were in jeopardy. The case has been a knowledgeable experience for further issues that may arise in the Department of Corrections and the Disability Law Center.
The case was handled a clear concise manner, and the outcome was resourceful for all parties.
Reference
Shemley, S. (2014). Disability Law Center v. Massachussetts Department of Corrections. United States Courts, 1-3.
