Do prisoners have the right to be safe in prison?

[dolphins4life]

I say yes, some people might say no.

I have heard stories recently

1) An inmate WHO WASN'T EVEN CONVICTED, but was waiting booking, was killed by bedbugs in prison

2) Derek Chauvin was nearly stabbed to death recently in prison.

What do you think?

[Phishfan]

Not to split hairs but one is jail and the other prison. People deserve to be safe in either but unfortunately there are not a lot of ensurences. The inmate that died was completely a system failure. Pure neglect. Heads should roll for that. Chauvin I don't know much about. He should have not been in gen pop but I'm not sure that he was. I just don't know the circumstances.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Yes. 

Do school children have a right to be safe from gun violence in their classroom?

Do citizens have a right to be treated fairly by police?

The question is does the right exist by how to implement.

[AQNOR]

A quote from former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arapaio who was labeled as America's Toughest Sheriff:

"Jail and prison should be uncomfortable but never unsafe"

[Dave Gray]

Absolutely yes.  A prisoner's death is unjust and is a failure of the system.

Even in these terrible cases where people are shitty humans and have murdered kids and all that, it's still a tragedy when they're killed in custody.  That kind of justice isn't justice.

[Spider-Dan]

A quote from former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arapaio who was labeled as America's Toughest Sheriff:

"Jail and prison should be uncomfortable but never unsafe"

Joe Arpaio lost court cases and paid out settlements due to the unsafe conditions in his jails.  From Wikipedia:

In the subsequent wrongful death of Braillard v. Maricopa County, the plaintiff's attorney cited numerous reports commissioned and paid for by Maricopa County, dating back as far as 1996, detailing a "culture of cruelty" where inmates were routinely denied humane healthcare at Maricopa County jails run by Arpaio. Testifying in this case, Arpaio stated he could not deny making the statement that even if he had a billion dollars he wouldn't change the way he runs his jails. Arpaio said his jails were meant as places for punishment, and that the inhabitants were all criminals, although in fact most inmates had not been convicted of a crime and were awaiting trial.

Joe Arpaio saying "Jail should never be unsafe" is like Bernie Madoff saying "You should always be careful with other peoples' money" or Casey Anthony saying "There's no stronger bond than that between a mother and her child."  It's laughable to the point of insult.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Joe Arpaio lost court cases and paid out settlements due to the unsafe conditions in his jails.  From Wikipedia:

In the subsequent wrongful death of Braillard v. Maricopa County, the plaintiff's attorney cited numerous reports commissioned and paid for by Maricopa County, dating back as far as 1996, detailing a "culture of cruelty" where inmates were routinely denied humane healthcare at Maricopa County jails run by Arpaio. Testifying in this case, Arpaio stated he could not deny making the statement that even if he had a billion dollars he wouldn't change the way he runs his jails. Arpaio said his jails were meant as places for punishment, and that the inhabitants were all criminals, although in fact most inmates had not been convicted of a crime and were awaiting trial.

Joe Arpaio saying "Jail should never be unsafe" is like Bernie Madoff saying "You should always be careful with other peoples' money" or Casey Anthony saying "There's no stronger bond than that between a mother and her child."  It's laughable to the point of insult.

I tend to think that Derek Chauvin would have been treated very well in a jail run by Joe Arpaio. 

[AQNOR]

I tend to think that Derek Chauvin would have been treated very well in a jail run by Joe Arpaio. 

But he'd still have to sport the black and white striped jumpsuit with pink boxers and eat bologna sandwiches for lunch.

[Dave Gray]

I think we need a larger conversation about prison in America and part of that is just to figure out what it's for and what the goals are.  Prison is one of the single biggest failures of capitalism, IMO.  Though a capitalist in general, some things not only don't thrive under it, but are worse because of it -- prison is one of those things.  It's expensive, a poor product, and ineffective -- but it's self-serving.  It's the worst of all worlds, really.

[Dave Gray]

killed by bedbugs in prison

Does this mean what it sounds like?  How do you die from bedbugs?

[Spider-Dan]

I tend to think that Derek Chauvin would have been treated very well in a jail run by Joe Arpaio.

Joe Arpaio was pardoned by Trump for a criminal contempt of court conviction, due to his refusal to obey a court order to stop his racial profiling practices.

So Derek Chauvin would absolutely be a privileged person in one of Joe Arpaio's jails.

[Phishfan]

Does this mean what it sounds like?  How do you die from bedbugs?

I don't know if it was bed bugs exactly but his cell was in such squalor that bugs were feeding on him. I guess it made him so anemic it killed him. It was neglect and there is no excuse that the environment was that unclean. Jail cells are all metal and concrete. It's about the easiest environment to clean.