Example Of Essay On The Arizona Maricopa County Tent City Jail

Strictly speaking, a jail is a place for the internment of individuals that have been convicted for having committed a crime. But jails, like homes, differ. Whereas jails are supposed to ensure that the rights of the inmates are not violated, many jails come close to doing so.
All prisoners, without exception, have basic rights that are protected by the U.S. Constitution. For example, under the Eighth Amendment, prisoners have the right to be free from inhuman conditions for these would be “cruel and unusual” punishment. However, Fifth Amendment rights must, by the necessity of confinement and discipline, be curtailed somewhat; for example, the right to privacy. However, the Due Process Clause of the Constitution protects the inmates’ personal property
Prisoners also have the right to be free from sexual crimes or harassment, as well as the right to complain about the condition of their prisons and the manner in which they are treated. They can make formal complaints in court. Prisoners have the right to receive adequate healthcare for any type of illness, whether short- or long-term, or whether physical or mental.
The jail system in Maricopa County, Arizona violates the prisoners rights because (1) the prisoners are kept in unsanitary conditions, which endangers their health, and (2) they are not given the opportunity for sufficient outdoor activities. This could be seen as being “cruel and unusual punishment.” Furthermore, the prisoners were not getting adequate mental and physical healthcare.
And does the state have the right to make the inmates wear pink underwear? One must look at the rationale for forcing prisoners to wear pink underwear, and Sheriff Arpaio acknowledges that the pink underwear was meant as a punishment. That is indefensible and arbitrary and may fall under “cruel and unusual punishment.” Certainly, unusual.
As to giving the prisoners bologna sandwiches for lunch; that is debatable. Do the prisoners get bologna sandwiches at every single lunch? Even then, it might be defensible, for it is neither cruel nor unusual. The question is whether the prisoners are getting overall adequate nutrition.
The inmates are housed in tents and thus air conditioning presents a problem. The tents are Army surplus and many feel that if it is good enough for our armed forces, then it is good enough for our inmates. The question is whether prisoners are selected for the tent city jail on the basis of their ability to cope with the conditions, that is, whether the weak and infirm are exempt. One benefit of the tent city is that the prisoners may have more time outdoors. Many prisoners are jailed in tiny concrete rooms that turn into sweat rooms in the hot summer days, even with air conditioning. But perhaps the most important issue to consider is the duration of confinement in the tent city jail. It would be difficult to make a strong case against it were the confinement limited to, say, less than six months.