The Guantanamo detention facility has caused a major controversy between the White House and the Republican-Controlled Congress in recent years (Marshall 795). The upcoming election does not look hopeful in finding a resolution for this issue because both candidates completely disagree. Keeping Guantanamo open is not ideal for America’s financial, national security, or international relations interest; therefore, the facility should be shut down. The Guantanamo detention facility is expensive for the United States. It “costs the U.S. taxpayers $44 million a year” (Mora 809). Alternative solutions prove the prison to be uneconomical for U.S. taxpayers. The expense of running Guantanamo is excessive, and the money used for its operation could be used for improving security at U.S. federal prisons in preparation for Guantanamo detainees instead. Keeping American prisoners on foreign land has proven to be ineffective. Experts say “that many high-level terrorists have long been imprisoned on U.S. soil without incident (Marshall 797). Mr. Alberto J. Mora believes “the federal prison system has demonstrated that it can successfully and safely hold terrorists as dangerous as …show more content…
relationships with allies. When President Obama speaks with world leaders they bring up the fact that Guantanamo is not resolved (Marshall 795). These world leaders speak for countries that the United States needs on their side in the fight against terrorism. Important U.S. officials say “the prison not only fails to advance national security but also undermines it” (Marshall 795). This is due to the fact that “allies are less likely to share valuable intelligence with us” and that without confirmation that their prisoners will not be sent to Guantanamo, they are reluctant to send them to the U.S. (Marshall 798). Guantanamo may not directly affect the U.S. fight against terrorism, but closing it “would likely improve relations with allies” (Marshall
Solitary confinement has the ability to shatter even the healthiest mind when subjected to indefinite lockdown, yet the mentally ill, who are disproportionately represented in the overall prison population, make up the majority of inmates who are held in that indefinite lockdown. Within your average supermax prison in which all inmates are subjected to an elevated form of solitary confinement, inmates face a 23-hour lockdown, little to no form of mental or physical stimulation that is topped off with no human interaction beyond the occasional guard to inmate contact. It is no wonder ‘torture’ is often used synonymously to describe solitary confinement. For years, cases arguing against solitary confinement have contested against its inhumane
What were the Japanese internment camps some might ask. The camps were caused by the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1942 by Japan. President Roosevelt signed a form to send all the Japanese into internment camps.(1) All the Japanese living along the coast were moved to other states like California, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. The camps were located away from Japan and isolated so if a spy tried to communicate, word wouldn't get out. The camps were unfair to the Japanese but the US were trying to be cautious. Many even more than 66% or 2/3 of the Japanese-Americans sent to the internment camps in April of 1942 were born in the United States and many had never been to Japan. Their only crime was that they had Japanese ancestors and they were suspected of being spies to their homeland of Japan. Japanese-American World War I veterans that served for the United States were also sent to the internment camps.(2)
Our country currently has the highest rate of people incarcerated in the entire world. Those numbers do not include large amount of people held military facilities, U.S. territories, or U.S. immigration and customs enforcements detention centers which would more than double the numbers. The justice and prison systems have been known to have many issues regarding the way they are structured and how they function. The Kalief Browder Story, a six-part documentary series shares Kalief’s story through the many injustices he had to face and that are being done by this country’s correctional and justice system.
Gresham M. Sykes describes the society of captives from the inmates’ point of view. Sykes acknowledges the fact that his observations are generalizations but he feels that most inmates can agree on feelings of deprivation and frustration. As he sketches the development of physical punishment towards psychological punishment, Sykes follows that both have an enormous effect on the inmate and do not differ greatly in their cruelty.
26. Glover Julian, “Guantanamo piled lie upon lie through the momentum of its own existence” in The Guardian, April 25, 2011
“Concentration camps (Konzentrationslager; abbreviated as KL or KZ) were an integral feature of the regime in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).
Frantz, Michael. “Federal Prison Overcrowding-Costs, Reasons, and Alternatives!” PRLog. N.a., 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
The past two decades have engendered a very serious and historic shift in the utilization of confinement within the United States. In 1980, there were less than five hundred thousand people confined in the nation’s prisons and jails. Today we have approximately two million and the numbers are still elevating. We are spending over thirty five billion annually on corrections while many other regime accommodations for education, health
Private prisons in the United States, came about in the early 1980s when the war on drugs resulted in a mass wave of inmates, which led to the lack of the prison system’s ability to hold a vast number of inmates. When the cost became too much for the government to handle, private sectors sought this as an opportunity to expand their businesses through the prison industry. Since the opening of private prisons, the number of prisons and inmates it can hold has grown over the last two decades. With the rising number of inmates, profits have also substantially grown along with the number of investors. But what eventually became a problem amongst the private prison industry was their “cost-saving” strategies, which have been in constant debate ever
A Writ of Habeas Corpus is an authoritative order forcing governments to provide the “body” of the detainee in which the legality of their detention and individual liberties will be challenged. Historically associated with civil liberty violation and the injustice of illegally detaining potentially enemies of the state, jurisdictional issues regarding their detaining location have made justice difficult to administer and deliver. Detaining enemies for their participation, involvement, and/or ties to threats of terror towards the United States will result the confinement of combatants, as solidified by the US Constitution, however, to what extent will they be forced to stay?. Residents of Guantanamo Bay are just; enemies of the state, accused individual that have been arrested and detain with minimal civil human rights to our jurisdictional due process that we American’s hold dear; with only a Writ of Habeas Corpus as their life line to legality and freedom. Although controversial in its conception and implementation by US presidential administration, judiciary members have cordially interpreted cases of questionable detention and the legality of doing so. It is truly unfortunate when individuals are tossed into confinement illegally with no help and/or the promise of their restorative freedoms (ACLU, 2014).
In view of Guantanamo Bay, the existing population stands low. However, still open are the special military courts and camp. The Obama administration continues to retain broad programs on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, as well as formulating only modest reforms. On the same, the justice system shows great focus on cracking down on leakers of government secrets, while it clearly guards against court reviews of these secrets. For instance, the current administration has placed a ban on harsh interrogation, similarly to Bush administration. Conversely, the Obama administration under the arm of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) upheld the increase on drone strikes. Savage explores the process of policy continuation, with a broader insight into the underlying causes. The practical approach by the Obama administration on addressing threats, and resistance from congress and the Republican sides becomes unclear as pertains to the reasons for the current misunderstanding on policy formulations. A clear fact remains: both parties play a major role in the emergent policy frameworks under Obama administration. The current American government has created a philosophical strategy to reform that show sustenance of a variety of controversial decisions from past administrations,
For decades, prison has been signified as an unspeakably horrifying place for those who have done harm to our society. Nevertheless, in today 's society, shows like Wentworth, orange is the new black and prison break illustrate prison in an entertaining way. A way that is so detached from reality. However, in the article "Norway 's Ideal Prison," by Piers Hernu, he clearly reveals and gives us a vivid picture of what prison life is like in Bastoy, the home of Norway only prison. On the other hand, "The Prisoners Dilemma," by Stephan Chapman argues how in Islamic countries criminals are being cruelly handled and how flawed the American penal system is and needs to be adjusted. Even though there are many similarities in both articles on what
Should prisons in the United States be for profit? How do for profit prisons benefit the United States? Would inmates rather be in private or public correctional centers? What kind of affects does this have on taxpayers? What are the pros and cons of profit prisons? These are many of the questions that are brought up when discussing for profit prison systems. There are different perspectives that can be taken when it comes to talking about for profit prisons. This paper will discuss some of the ways that the United States has started to become for profit and why it has happened. Finally, this paper will give an opinion of whether or not for profit prisons should be dominant over public facilities.
Ever since the attack on the world trade center, Americans have become more aware of their surroundings and possible scenarios that could take place anytime and anywhere. After 9/11 the U.S. military began more sophisticated interrogations on individuals that could possibly lead to terrorism outbreaks by using the most effective way which is torture to ensure that the safety and lives of Americans is not threatened. Through the use of torture by our military, the U.S. has been able to interfere the use of terrorism, obtain important information and save numbers of U.S. citizens lives.
The features of enhanced confinement that consistently draw the most profound condemnation revolve around: the often-brutal forms and compassionless deprivations in which these units or facilities operate, the harrowing living conditions that inmates are compelled to endure, the resulting physical and psychological damage to body and soul, and the questionable legality of such confinement. Leading human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are regularly outing the United States for operating torturous prisons that house convicted criminals in the most deplorable and extra-legal conditions. (Marion Experiment pgs.