Prisoners’ Rights

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Prisoners Rights
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• Article 10 of the International Covenant on
  Civil and Political Rights states that
• 3. The penitentiary system shall comprise
  treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which
  shall be their reformation and social
  rehabilitation.

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• Media propaganda or the harsh realities?

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• Imprisonment involves completely depriving
  offenders of their liberty by keeping them
  detained.
• It is also generally considered the last resort,
  where all other punishments are inadequate.

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• Prisoners are human beings. In most cases, they
  are also citizens of this country, "subjects of
  the Queen" and "electors" under the Constitution.
  They should, so far as the law can allow,
  ordinarily have the same rights as all other
  persons before this Court. They have lost their
  liberty whilst they are in prison. However, so
  far as I am concerned, they have not lost their
  human dignity or their right to equality before
  the law.quoted from Muir v The Queen 2004 HCA
  21 at paragraph 25.

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• However, despite the statements and opinions of
  judges and articles of International law, the
  standards and guidelines are not always met and
  are often breached in terms of prisoners rights.
  
• As seen in the Prisoners rights abused
  ombudsman a media article which spoke of the
  abuse of power of officers as they used excessive
  force and assaulted an inmate and made the inmate
  march naked through the Melbourne custody centre.
  

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• Also the prisoner disenfranchisement provisions
  of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918,
  legislation which removed the right of all
  sentenced prisoners to vote in federal elections.
  This was challenged by the Roach v AEC and
  Commonwealth of Australia case (2007). Though in
  the High court decision, it was found that
  justice would be upheld if prisoners serving a
  sentence less than three years had the right to
  vote.

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• Prisoners have avenues of achieving justice
  whilst in gaol
• The NSW Ombudsman takes complaints and records
  violations revealed by prisoners.
• The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
  Commission (1986) which investigates and attempts
  to resolve complaints regarding breaches of
  prisoners rights.

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• Statue LawThe states of Victoria and Tasmania
  have enacted legislation that confers specific
  rights on prisoners, which generally reflect the
  minimum international human rights standards,
  although this legislation does not refer to any
  specific remedy for breach of those rights.
  Otherwise the states and territories have their
  own Acts and Regulations.

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• Such as
• The Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999
  (NSW) states how offenders are to be treated and
  rules that apply following the sentencing
  process.
• The lack of binding statue law in protecting
  prisoners rights reveals the need of security of
  prisoners rights within the Commonwealth.

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• A set of Standard Guidelines for Correctional
  Centres in Australia has been established.
  Providing the following
• the opportunity to make complaints or requests to
  a designated authority
• to inform families of their detention and to
  ongoing telephone access and visits
• the right to seek assistance and to have legal
  visits
• suitable accommodation and the necessary
  facilities to maintain their general hygiene
• the prohibition of prolonged solitary
  confinement, corporal punishment, reduction of
  diet and other cruel, inhumane or degrading
  punishments
• access to (paid) productive work, education and
  leisure facilities, to open air for prescribed
  periods
• the rights to practice a religion of the
  prisoners choice

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• Inmates are entitled to protective custody where
  people who are likely to be discriminated against
  in a correctional centre can be protected.
• This is effective in the sense that certain
  groups such as homosexuals, mentally or
  physically disabled and those convicted of
  certain crimes such as sexual assault of children
  can seek for protection. Though whilst being
  under protective custody opportunities to work
  and more importantly educational opportunities to
  benefit inmates upon released are limited.

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• In June 2000, the Human Rights Committee
  stipulated a reform as they were very critical of
  Australias failure to provide effective remedies
  in the event of violations of Covenant rights.
  There are still areas in which the domestic
  legal system does not provide effective remedy to
  persons whose rights have been violated.
• Through this Australia was urged to take
  measures and alter Australias justice system
  regarding prisoners rights.

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• In conjunction with the Human Rights criticism
  in September 2008 the Alexander Maconochie
  Centre, Canberras humane prison was opened.
• The objectives of this prison
• compliant with Human Rights standards
• incorporate the aim of rehabilitating prisoners
• help prisoners when released back into the
  community
• decrease recidivism rates

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• Nevertheless the community have back lashed is
  saying the facility is too nice and to be
  detained entails losing the things we take for
  granted(Mr. Corbell).
• A sense of retribution for the community is not
  achieved through the air-conditioned prison and
  the community is left to feel as though no
  justice is served.

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• Prisoners rights have evolved and come a long
  way to the humane style prison described
  earlier.
• Let me take you back to 1848.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vxyggDDdpKvY

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• As seen rehabilitation was far the aim of
  imprisonment, prison was seen as the end and
  standards of prisons were significantly below
  human rights obligations.
• Now in 2010 images such as the ACT prison are
  seen.

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• Cell room

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• Officers base

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• Progress has come a long way as society is
  beginning to accept the notion that People come
  to prison as punishment not for it though
  Australias statue law in protecting prisoners
  rights and appropriate remedies is an area in
  which future reforms are needed.