Dignity Is The Foundation Of Our American Criminal Justice...

Dignity is a natural born value of worthiness placed on individuals by society and themselves. From my perspective, dignity is the nourishment and affirmation of one’s self-esteem; in other words, fuel that every human possesses and should have preserved to remain mentally whole. However, prominent 19th century social reformers like Jeremy Bentham were critical of the notion that prisoners ought to possess declared rights. Bentham thought it was naà ¯ve to reason that declared rights could exist outside the law; his criticism derives from a theoretical commitment to a system where law, punishment and proper government are erected through legislation. Dignity was never a concerning factor for criminal justice officials because authority and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Prisoners,† wrote Justice Kennedy, â€Å"retain the essence of human dignity [†¦] a prison that deprives prisoners of basic sustenance, including adequate medical care, is incompatible with t he concept of human dignity and has no place in civilized society† (Dignity Cascade p. 133). In Brown V. Plata, the notion that prisons were overcrowded and lacked medical materials to help prisoners who struggled with mental illness was critically analyzed and eventually declared a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Subjecting inmates in prisons to such vile conditions was declared a violation of their 8th amendment rights (Estelle v. Gamble, 1976). From my perspective, denying a human being medical treatment (even incarcerated peoples) reduces their self-worth to subhuman standards. In turn, the standard by which the prison system shapes their practices yields effects well beyond the actual prison walls. Though not always publicly announced, prison practices often come to be known by the bulk of the general public. Subjecting prisoners to sub-human standards of living has an indirect and perhaps subconscious effect on not only prisoners and those working within prisoners, but to all who become aware of such standards and practices. The ethical and standards from which a nation shapes their institutional practices sets a precedence for all standards of behavior within that given society. Thus, violent and neglectful prison practices cause an indirect diluting or