Prisoner's Rights Movement In The 1960s

In Bell v. Wolfish, the Supreme Court had to determine if violations of the eight amendments had occurred under the “punitive intent standard” which distinguishes between incarceration and detainment. The court also had to determine if any violations of the eighth amendment had occurred which resulted in cruel and unusual punishment being inflicted upon the inmates who were primarily housed as pretrial detainees. The case alleged that within a new constructed federal jail in New York City

“When Prisoner’s Protest” by Wilbert Rideau starts out by explaining that protests don’t happen often in prison. The logistics of organizing a protest is complicated, due to the lack of open communication between the inmates. They are also very dangerous for those included. So when protests do occur the inmates feel strongly enough to take that risk, even if the reason for the protest doesn’t directly affect them. Rideau talks about the 30,000 inmates in California who went on a hunger strike, hoping for change, specifically in regards to the use of solitary confinement.

The Supreme Court of the United States, in Wilkinson v. Austin, decided more than a decade ago that the state of Ohio 's Super Max facilities did not violate those prisoner 's due process rights long established under precedent. Although the prisoners lost their case, the controversy is very much alive (Lobel 2008). This issue affects every American citizen. Although all citizens will not face confinement in a super-max facility, but a due process analysis in the higher federal courts has serious implications. The American legal system is built

Franklin, J. (2000).Three Strikes and You're Out of Constitutional Rights - The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Three Strikes Provision and Its Effect on Indigents, 71 U. Colo. L. Rev. 191. This article hypothesizes that the PLRA Three Strikes provision or law goes against the equal protection element provided for in the Fifth Amendment due process clause and hence, it is constitutionally suspect. The methods used to find information and data to support the hypothesis are qualitative whereby the researcher reviews past documents and records regarding the three strikes provision.

The Eighth Amendment or Amendment VIII of the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights, and declares that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” , thus proscribes disproportionate bails , inequitable and degrading to human dignity sanctions for any types of criminal offenses, as well as monetary penalties that are exceptionally high. Amendment VIII is significant because according to the legal system of the United States of America, an individual accused of a crime is “presumed innocent until proven guilty” and therefore, allowing disproportionate bail amounts to be set, would carry the risk of holding innocent people in custody, sometimes

Supreme Court decisions. These decisions embraced the idea that inmates were protected by the Constitution, but to a lesser degree than suggested by the lower courts. This period continues into the 1990s. The Supreme Court gave the "slow down" message to the lower courts and stated that they should defer to the judgment of [corrections] officials. The Court set out a specific test for [lower] courts to follow in evaluating cases of conflict between an inmate's constitutional rights and the legitimate interests of the institution.

The victim right’s movement of the 1980’s demonstrated a shift in the Judicial and Law Enforcement practices from Rights of the accused to rights of the victim. The fundamental right of the victim was to be represented equitably throughout the criminal justice process. There are four basic rights of the victims that are the right or information and notification, participation, the right to feel and be reasonably protected and

Amendment 8 covers several different things that pertain to an incarcerated American. As previous amendments paved the way, the 8th amendment continues to give rights to the American citizen

Deliver a Speech on Incarceration 1 What percentage of U.S. adults are currently incarcerated? What is their demographic make-up (age, sex, race, class)? A percentage of 0.5% of the United States population is incarcerated.

While sitting in jail for nonviolent protest, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (King). This message of civil disobedience defined the American Civil Rights Movement: when the law is unjust, nonviolent action becomes morally and fundamentally required. Through boycotts, marches, and other forms of peaceful resistance, the American Civil Rights Movement ultimately lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (The Civil Rights Act of 1964), a key piece of equal rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on sex or race. Peaceful resistance to laws is the cornerstone of progress in a free society, and it is fundamental to democracy and equality.

Originating in the Wisconsin Eastern U.S. District Court, the Supreme Court case of Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973), involved a Wisconsin State Agency (Gagnon, Warden v. Scarpelli, n.d.). Later appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, this case was ruled in a liberal direction and concluded that the earlier decision is affirmed (Gagnon, Warden v. Scarpelli, n.d.). Case factors include violations of the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and the need for counsel at a revocation hearing (Gagnon, Warden v. Scarpelli, n.d.). Moreover, in this case, the court held that parolees do have a limited right to counsel in revocation proceedings (Latessa & Smith, 2015). Furthermore, that the body must determine on a case-by-case basis whether counsel should be afforded, as counsel may not always be granted (Latessa & Smith, 2015).

Peaceful resistance to laws and legislation is an essential component of a free society. There are no alternatives to protesting unjust institutions more humane than a peaceful, nonviolent opposition which accepts the consequences of its actions. The concept of peaceful opposition isn’t a specifically American concept, but can be traced throughout our expansive history. Our country began with the rejection of the Intolerable Acts through nonviolent opposition, such as boycotting English goods. Nonviolent protests were very frequently utilized in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's.

The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social, In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement was very successful because activist showed the level of racism and segregation in the south. The tactics and resistance made in this time period helped achieve desegregation because and the resistance that the activists dealt with just made them become more aware in the media and hopefully spread nation wide.

In the summer of 1964, a movement called freedom summer took place which was an activist movement to get African Americans in the southern states to vote. The movement was led by an activist group called Congress on Racial Equality or CORE. Three civil rights workers were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. On June 21,1964, the three activist movements were declared deceased.

In regards to the more contemporary system of incarceration, Robin D.G. Kelley, in the foreword of Davis’ The Meaning of Freedom, refers to Davis’ employment of “negative” liberty (Davis 7). Here, as seen when he states, “This ‘negative’ liberty or freedom places a premium on the right to own property, to accumulate wealth…” Davis and Kelley distinguish that the collective freedoms of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” are not guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution but instead are merely protected from the government’s abridgement” (Davis