Although prisoners seem to be the evilest people in the society, they also have rights like any other free citizen.  In general, prisoners retain the rights afforded free citizens except those curtailed or taken expressly by law, because of the crime or those that are restricted due to the nature of confinement (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). These rights are however only granted if they are reasonable. No matter which crimes one has been committed, they should be housed under good conditions before trial, and even after trial, if they are found guilty, and they should be allowed to have their constitutional rights.

Explains the Mandatory Rights that Prison Administrators Must Provide Prisoners

The mandatory rights of prisoners are contained in the first, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th amendments to the constitution.  From this amendments, the prisoners have the right of speech, religion, petition, assembly and press according to the first amendment. The fourth amendment gives the prisoners right to privacy in that; the government cannot conduct unreasonable searches and seizure (Collins, 2010).  In the Fifth Amendment, the prisoner has the right to the due process of law.  The prisoner also has the rights to a speedy public trial having the rights to communicate freely with jailhouse lawyers, prisoner attorneys and access to the libraries of law materials and other legal materials.  Again, an inmate is not to be subjected to unusual and cruel punishment. This requires that an inmate can access medical care, good confinement conditions, and a reasonable length of confinement and ensure that their lives are not intruded and isolated.  In other words, according to this eighth amendment, the inmate is not supposed to be subjected to excessive fines, excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishment (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013).  Lastly, in the fourteenth amendment, a prisoner has the right to equal treatment without discrimination.  They can access food, visiting, access to courts, recreation, and exercise, classification, and separation among others (Miller & Walter, 1989). Prisoners have many more rights, and they cannot be exhausted.

Discuss How the Rights of the Prisoner are balanced with the Security, Safety, Court Requirements, Visits, and Other Functions of the Facility.

The rights of the prisoners must be balanced with security, safety, and court requirements.  Institutions of confinement are given latitude to limit rights if they can show that through limitation of a right, the safety and security of the institution, staff, and prisoners are not compromised (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). Every right, however, for example, the right to be visited and to exercise religion must be safe for both the inmate, fellow prisoners and in the place where they have been confined. If this freedom curtails safety of these three elements, then the right is taken away from the prisoner. The level to which an inmate is allowed to exercise their freedom is dependent on nature of confinement. Therefore, prisoners can exercise their rights only if they do not harm themselves and others, or rather the rights can be taken from them. Another example is that, when it comes right to take a special diet for example due to religion, this will depend on the costs and whether the costs are affordable (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013).

Provide an example of where a corrections officer must balance the rights of the inmates with his daily functions.

Correlational officers are agents of change as they provide goods and services to prisoners, acting as a referral agent or advocate for inmates, and helping inmates with institutional adjustment (Johnson, 2002). These officers do this through keeping authority as opposed to using coercion. Correlations officers undergo a socialization process that enables them to balance their unofficial and official rules.  For example, an inmate can do something may be disturbing peace in the institution of attacks another inmate. In this case, the correlation office is supposed to exercise authority, but he has to ensure that he is professional enough to provide the goods and the services that the same offender needs.

Conclusion

The society looks at prisoners in a way to suggest that they are the worst people in the community and they should not be treated in a humane way. However, according to the constitution, these inmates have rights that are not supposed to be compromised, and they can only be limited based on the nature of confinement. The rights of the prisoners have boundaries whatsoever; as you can never guess to what extent, an inmate can be harmful. Sometimes, even the prisoners who have not being tried yet needs to be restricted to some extent to ensure that there are security and safety in the institution at large.

References

Collins, W. C. (2010). Correctional law: For the correctional officer. Alexandria, VA: American Correctional Association.

Johnson, R. (2002). Hard time: Understanding and reforming the prison (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Miller, R. C., & Walter, D. J. (1989). Detention and corrections case law catalog (3rd ed.). Kents Hill, ME: CRS, Inc.

Stojkovic, S., & Lovell, R. (2013). Corrections: An introduction. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

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