Essay on Humane Treatment of Prisoners
It is commonly believed that people who have ever committed crimes or broken laws don’t deserve human rights. But it has become very important now to question the humane treatment of prisoners while taking the conditions of the overcrowded prisons into account. Some prisoners might also be mentally ill which need proper treatment to survive. The number of female prisoners is also increasing day by day which requires common human decency to be treated.
Prisoners must get equal healthy food to eat and adequate treatment for physical and mental care. It is unfair for the prisoners to feel that they don’t deserve health and safety because they have committed a crime. In my opinion, they should get enough punishment for the crime they committed but they must not live in constant fear of starvation, medical neglect, physical, and mental abuse.
It is evident that prisoners’ lives were much more miserable in ancient times. There used to be more physical and mental punishments that it was really hard for them to survive for a longer time period. But the need of the hour is to understand that the prisoners are also human and nothing can justify the deprivation of human rights from their lives. But unfortunately, the world and people have become really unpredictable and there is no limitation to the torture which is being imposed on the prisoners.
The laws against the prisoners are too strict that it is not easy for them to deal even with the situations like rape, assault, and murder in severe cases. They are supposed to bear everything silently without reporting it to anyone. Instead of making the laws against the rapists and assaulters, prisoners live in the fear of being punished more severely because they are vulnerable and helpless. It is now important to build a moral institution to be able to feel and express what’s right and what’s wrong. As I am completely against the inhumane treatment of prisoners, so should everyone else.
Prisoners are already paying the price of the mistake or crime they committed. Now it is our moral duty to make sure that they are not put to in any more harm or damage. A lot of population of the prisoners is mentally ill which need mental help instantly to be able to retrain. But the number of people in medical staff assigned for the prisoners is too less that it is quite hard to achieve the allusion of rehabilitation for them. Also, a huge number of mentally ill prisoners is forced to be restricted in single cells. This kind of treatment can do more harm than good to them as it is nearly impossible for such prisoners to live in isolation while dealing with psychological disorders as well.
It is suggested to take the approach of virtue ethics to resolve this issue and make sure that the prisoners get humane treatment by everyone around them. It would prove to be beneficial for both society and the prisoners if we learn to deal with the prisoners effectively.
