The Pros And Cons Of Prisoners In Prison

When the word “prisoner” is heard the first thing that comes to mind is a person who did something horrible. However, not all prisoners or did horrible things, like murder, to put themselves in prison. Most prisoners were incarcerated for drug trafficking, bank robbery, or maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These individuals are often sentenced for periods of ten years or more. During their incarceration and as the prisoners begin to age they will get sick. But the unfortunate thing for prisoners, is that they aren’t always allowed the health care services they need for maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health while incarcerated. The purpose of this research paper is explore and discuss the reasons why prisoners

According to the article, Medical Problems of State and Federal Prisoners and Jail Inmates, written by Maruschak, Berzofsky, Unangst 2011-12, “Chronic conditions include cancer, high blood pressure, stroke-related problems, diabetes, heart-related problems, kidney-related problems, arthritis, asthma, and cirrhosis of the liver.” They also state that, “Twenty-one percent of prisoners and 14% of jail inmates reported ever having an infectious disease, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).” Additionally, they inform us that “About 1% of prisoners and jail inmates who had been tested for HIV reported being HIV positive” Maruschak, Berzofsky, Unangst. Due to inmate’s exposure to other prisoners who have infectious diseases they are susceptible to infection themselves. Therefore, these people will more than likely not survive their sentencings without some type of

One article mentions that, “mental health problems are common in prison, with high rates of mental illness and personality disorder creating significant needs for invention from both primary care and specialist mental health services” (Senior 2008). Meaning that these prisoners may become violent and very uncooperative without medication. According to the article, The Work of Prison Doctors written by Richard Smith, he states “Doctors are also involved in punishment within the prisons. Doctors will often be called when a prisoner becomes violent and aggressive.” He also mentions that, “The discipline officers will want the doctor’s opinion on whether the prisoner is mentally ill, and they may also want the doctor to give the prisoner ‘something to quieten him down’” (Smith 1984). He also discusses how violent patients would be restrained with a straight jacket or put into a strip cell. This type of discipline would only make the prisoners act more aggressively in the long run. Which makes it hard for the physicians to administer the medication properly without hurting the prisoner or