Prisoner Rights In America

Prisoner rights in America are based largely on the provisions of the Bill of Rights. In this assignment, you will research the U.S. Bill of Rights and explain its major provisions. You should address the impact that the Bill of Rights has had on the field of criminal justice, corrections, and prisoners’ rights. Also, explain how the Bill of Rights is applied at the state level.

Assignment Guidelines:

• Address the following in a PowerPoint presentation of 12–14 slides:
  • Identify and explain the major provisions of the Bill of Rights.
  • How has the Bill of Rights significantly impacted prisoners’ rights and the fields of criminal justice and corrections?
  • Explain how the Bill of Rights is applied at the state level.
  • What are 2 major avenues of relief pursued by prisoners?

Recognition of prisoner rights in the United States has only developed in recent decades. It is important to learn from the events and milestones in the past to effectively evaluate the present state of corrections. In this assignment, you will use the course materials, textbook, library, and Web resources to research and explain common law and the rights that have been retained by prisoners of the U.S. correctional system.

Assignment Guidelines:

• Use the course materials, textbook, library, and Web resources to research the history of prisoners’ rights.
• Research U.S. common law.
• In 4–6 paragraphs, address the following:
  • What is common law? Explain.
  • What rights do American prisoners retain during incarceration?
  • Why did prisoners, historically, have very few rights?