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Mail and visitations are sacred issues for inmates.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution entitles inmates to
receive and send mail. This right is subject only to the institution's right to
censor letters or withhold delivery if necessary to protect institutional
security. Inmate mail is classified as either non-privileged or privileged.
Non-privileged mail includes commercial mail, letter from family, friends and
businesses. The Constitution allows prison officials to open this mail outside
the presence of the inmate. Prison officials can also read non-privileged mail
for security or other correctional purposes without a warrant. Privileged mail
includes attorney-client communications. This mail cannot be opened or read
outside the inmate's presence. Privileged mail from the inmate may generally be
sent unopened.
Visits like mail are the inmate's only contact with
the outside world. The Court has allowed visitors to be severely restricted.
Visits by children, ex-inmates, and known drug offenders can and are often
denied. Time, place, and manner of visits are also allowed to be restricted. The
Sixth Amendment to the Constitution provides the inmate with the right to meet
or visit with his or her attorney. These visits are commonly known as legal
visits. While the Sixth Amendment does not require full and unfettered contact
between an inmate and his or her attorney in all circumstances, the government
is required to provide a rationale if a legal visit is denied.
The Eight Amendment to the Constitution require
prison officials to provide prisoners with adequate medical care. This also
includes dental and mental health care. Adequate care in the prison context
means the same quality and standard of care that the inmate would be entitled to
if he or she were in the community and able to chose and access a health care
provider independently.
Disabled prisoners are protected by the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Section 794(a), and by Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 12131, et seq. The
Rehabilitation Act was created to apply to Federal Executive Agencies, including
the Bureau of Prisons, and any program that receives federal funding. The ADA
was created to regulate state and local government t programs, even those that
do not receive federal funding.
The old bread and water diet that we have seen in
movies are now prohibited. Prison officials must provide inmates with at least
three nutritionally balanced meals per day. Those inmates needing special diets
for religious or health purposes must also be accommodated.
Brutality and unjust or restrictive confinement
outside the general prison population is also restricted and in some instances
prohibited. A prison guard cannot use unnecessary force to subdue a
non-cooperative inmate. Nor can the prison officials lock an inmate away in a
dark, damp hole. Both state and federal prisons have rules that regulate
discipline and disciplinary actions. Before an inmate is removed from the
general prison population, and placed in restrictive housing he must be given
notice of the action, is entitled to a hearing on the action and in most cases
can have counsel or other representation; and has the right to appeal any
adverse action taken against him or her to the prison Administrator and or the
Courts.
Finally, exposing prisoners to dangerous conditions
or toxic substances may violate the Eight Amendment of the Constitution, which
prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Prison authorities violate the Eight
Amendment if, with deliberate indifference, they expose a prisoner to a
condition that posses an unreasonable risk of serious damage to that prisoner's
future health. Some examples of violations are, inadequate ventilation,
excessive heat, excessive cold, lack of drinkable water, lack of fire safety,
excessive noise, exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, sleep deprivation,
inadequate food, exposure to insects, rodents, and other vermin, deprivation of
basic sanitation, defective plumbing, denial of adequate toilet facilities, and
miscellaneous unhealthy or dangerous conditions.
The body of law now known as Prisoners" Rights is
continually evolving.
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