There have been laws put in place to ensure that all Americans are treated fairly, and that includes prisoners. Unfortunately, many prisoners do not know that they have rights. Below are some of the rights that inmates are entitled to:

The Right To Receive Adequate Medical And Dental Care

Prison officials are required to ensure that all inmates receive medical and dental care, and this includes inmates who suffer from a mental health condition. Prison medical personnel are required to treat both acute and chronic illnesses. The care provided must be adequate. However, the medical or dental care a person receives in a prison may not be as good as the type one would receive in a facility outside of the prison.

It is estimated that four percent of the women in prison are pregnant. Regardless of whether these women choose to get an abortion or continue with the pregnancy, they are entitled to adequate medical care. Furthermore, prisons are required to make the necessary accommodations for disabled inmates.

Inmates Have The Right To Complain About Prison Conditions Or The Way They Are Being Treated

Many inmates are subjected to cruel and inhumane punishment, and they do not think they can do anything about it. However, inmates have the right to complain about the way they are treated by prison officials. They also have the right to complain about their living conditions to other prison officials or in court.

In Iowa, an inmate was awarded $7,000 in damages. He had been placed in solitary segregation for one year. After that, he was transferred to another facility where he stated that his life was put in danger because he complained about the conditions and had filed a lawsuit.

The Eight Amendment Of The Constitution is what gives prisoners the right to be protected against unfit living conditions and inhumane punishment. Prison officials are required to discipline inmates if the need arises. However, any punishment that violates a person’s dignity can be considered inhumane.

In 1995, a judge in Massachusetts found that prisoners were treated inhumanely. They were held in a prison that was infested with pests and did not have enough bathrooms.

The Right To Free Of All Forms Of Sexual Crimes

People who are in prison have the right to be free of all types of sexual crimes. This includes things such as molestation, rape and sexual harassment. Neither prison officials nor other inmates are allowed to sexually violate an inmate in any way.

The Basic Rights Of The First Amendment

The basic first amendment rights, such as free religion and speech, still apply to Inmates. They are allowed to exercise their first amendment rights as long as they do not interfere with their inmate status. For example, prison officials can open any mail that an inmate receives in order to ensure that it does not have any weapons or other prohibited. However, just because they find the correspondence, rude does not mean they have the right to censor it.