This is for my friend. Anyway, in a school argument, she is arguing against rights for prisoner and needs some strong reasons and statistics. Any help? (Tha thing's due in two weeks!)
What are some reasons and statistics to argue against prisoner rights in a debate?
Prisoners receive immediate and free medical attention, more so than many middle-class workers.
Prisoners are treated in many prisons as though they are living "the high life" or in country club settings, rather than being denied liberties.
Many people claim that U.S. prisoners live twice as well as U.S. college students, including being fed healthily and regularly.
"Joe Arpaio has been called "America's Toughest Sheriff" for his controversial approach to operating the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, mainly in regard to his treatment of inmates."
"Arpaio believes that inmates should be treated as harshly as legally possible to emphasize the punishment aspect of their incarceration. Thus upon his initial election Arpaio, began instituting the controversial changes for which he would later become noted.
Arpaio began to serve inmates surplus food (mainly outdated and oxidized green bologna) and limited meals to twice daily. Meal costs would be reduced to 90 cents per day; as of 2007 Arpaio states that he has managed to reduce costs to 30 cents per day. Certain food items were banned from the county jail, mainly coffee (which also reduced "coffee attacks" on guards), but later salt and pepper were removed from the jail (at a purported taxpayer savings of $20,000/year).
Arpaio banned smoking in the county jail. He also removed pornographic magazines (the ban was later upheld in court) and weightlifting equipment. Entertainment was limited to G-rated movies; the cable TV system (mandated by court order) was severely blocked by Arpaio to limit viewing to those stations Arpaio deems to be "educational", mainly Animal Planet, Disney Channel, The Weather Channel, A%26amp;E, CNN, and the local government access channel.
Arpaio also instituted a program for inmates to study while in jail and to try to recover from drug abuse. Hard Knocks High states to be the only approved high school program in any American jail. Another jail program, called ALPHA, is aimed solely at getting inmates away from drug abuse.
In October 2005, Arpaio started mandatory two-week English classes for non-English-speaking inmates at his jails. Classes last 2 hours a day. The curriculum comprises the three branches of government, how a bill becomes law, state government, law enforcement and court services, and jailhouse "situational" terminology. At the end of the two-week course, inmates are required to take a test to see how well they have learned about American government, the words to God Bless America, and the communication of health and safety needs. In response to critics, Arpaio responded, "These inmates happen to be incarcerated in the United States of America and in Maricopa County where I run the jails, we speak English here, not foreign languages."
In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station, KJOE, which broadcasts classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, obscenity-free patriotic music, and educational programming, from the basement of the county jail. The station airs four hours each day, five days a week. In March of 2007, the Maricopa County Jail hosted "Inmate Idol", a takeoff on the popular TV show.
Shortly after taking office, Arpaio reinstituted chain gangs, the controversial form of inmate labor which had been virtually eliminated in the United States.
Arpaio believes that chain gangs are not a form of punishment, but instead of rehabilitation. Inmates who are low-risk but with a history of jail incidents can apply to serve as free labor. Inmates work eight-hours a day, six days a week (Sundays off), mainly outside. The inmates wear traditional black-and-white striped uniforms (see below for more details) with a cap to protect against the desert heat. Inmates perform such tasks as creating fire breaks, removing trash, and burying deceased indigent persons in the county cemetery.
Arpaio also expanded the chain gang concept by instituting the world's first female chain gang. Female inmates work seven hours a day (7 AM to 2 PM), six days a week. Arpaio has also instituted the world's first all-juvenile chain gang.
One of Arpaio's most noted changes was the introduction of pink underwear. Arpaio noted that the traditional white underwear, labeled with Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, was being smuggled out of the jails and sold on the streets. Arpaio thus had the underwear dyed pink, believing that pink is not considered a "macho" color, and would not be stolen. Once the public learned of the change, requests came in for orders, and Arpaio began selling customized pink boxers (with the Maricopa County Sheriff's logo and "Go Joe") as a fund-raiser for sheriff's operations.
Arpaio subsequently introduced pink handcuffs among sheriff's deputies, who were taking the traditional silver-colored ones. Later, when Arpaio learned that the color pink has a known psychological calming effect, he began dyeing sheets, socks, towels, and all other fabric items in pink.
The outer uniform is not pink, but traditional black-and-white. This was part of another Arpaio-instituted change. One day, allegedly, Arpaio thought he saw an inmate escapee in the then-existing sea-green inmate uniform outside the jail (it turned out to be a hospital worker in scrubs). Later, he noted that the orange uniforms of the chain gangs were similar to uniforms used by county workers (the orange being needed for safety). Believing that inmates should be easily identifiable should they escape, Arpaio re-instituted the traditional black-and-white inmate uniforms, which even with the advent of everything else being pink has not changed.
The most noted, and controversial, of Arpaio's ideas was the set-up of "Tent City" as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail .
When Arpaio took office, inmates were routinely being released early due to overcrowding. Arpaio believed that "courts, not head count" should determine when an inmate is released, and that no officer should be deterred from making an arrest for fear that the inmate would be released due to jail overcrowding.
However, a new jail would have cost Maricopa County taxpayers around US$70 million. So instead, Arpaio obtained used tents from the military, and established Tent City in a parking lot adjacent to one of the jail facilities. As an announcement to future inmates that they should not expect early release upon overcrowding, but more tents instead, Arpaio added a (pink neon) "Vacancy" sign to the outside of Tent City. The original sign was destroyed in an inmate riot, but was quickly replaced. A second Tent City was opened in 1996 adjacent to another jail facility, and houses female inmates.
During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), which is higher than average, Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths." Inmates were given permission to wear only their pink underwear.
Tent City has been criticized by groups contending these are violations of human and constitutional rights, and simultaneously praised by those favoring Arpaio's "get tough on crime" approach.
In response to requests, the Sheriff's office offers group tours of its unique and controversial Tent City. In addition, Arpaio has instituted "S.M.A.R.T." Tents (Shocking Mainstream Adolescents into Resisting Temptation), a voluntary program for middle-school students who are bussed to an area adjacent to Tent City and, for the next 24 hours, are shown the reality of jail life.
For security purposes, Arpaio transports prisoners without their clothes (wearing only their underwear) so that they do not hide contraband during transport. Recently, this attracted considerable attention with not only prisoners in transport vehicles, but with prisoners marched down the public streets wearing only their underwear. The occurrence was reported widely in the media and has been referred to as the underwear march.
"It's a security issue," Arpaio said. "If you let them wear their clothes, they can conceal the fake keys and everything else.
Because of the media spectacle resulting from the underwear march, it would also be regarded as a perp walk.
Some feel that Sheriff Arpaio's actions are based less on a desire to serve the public and to lower crime, but on demagoguery and grandstanding that hurt the public welfare. Amnesty International issued a report critical of the treatment of inmates in Maricopa County facilities.
Criticism has resulted due to lawsuits filed against the sheriff’s office by family members of inmates who died in jail custody and in highspeed pursuits involving deputies. The lawsuits have cost Maricopa County more than $13.7 million in settlement claims. By mid-year 2007 more than $50 million in claims had been filed against the sheriffs office and Maricopa County."
Reply:You need to be clear about what specific rights you are talking about and the jurisdictional basis upon which they are deemed to be RIGHTS rather than mere PRACTICES. There are theoretical rights and actual rights, and they vary significantly from one “jurisdiction” to another.
Theoretical rights are god-given (“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”). Actual rights are generally privileges extended by society to those who exercise them responsibly (the “right” to drive a car). Atheistic countries like China generally do not recognize god-given rights. Actual rights vary: China does not recognize the right to free speech; America does.
In the United States, when a person goes to prison he loses substantially all his rights (in China he has few, if any, rights to begin with). He is allowed certain privileges based upon the nature of his offense(s) and his behavior. A prisoner in a state with capital punishment does not have a RIGHT to life if he has been sentenced to death (in fact, appellate lawyers never argue their death sentence appeals on the “right” to life). The state has broad discretion (or the “right”) to decide what privileges are and are not extended to him (and this includes so-called Constitutional rights). The state does not have the right to subject a prisoner to cruel and unusual punishment, but that’s one of the few restrictions on a state’s discretion.
I would suggest your friend TRY to do the following:
1. Dismiss arguments based on THEORETICAL rights. Whose “god” granted those rights?
2. Stick with ACTUAL rights.
3. Challenge any asserted “rights” that are based on qualifiers (a/k/a moral imperatives) such as “should be,” “ought to be,” etc. “We cannot reasonably debate what a prisoner’s rights SHOULD BE. We can only debate what those rights ARE. If we get into a debate about the way things SHOULD BE, we must first debate WHO gets to decide what “SHOULD BE.”
4. Try to emphasize several times that the debate MUST be about LEGAL rights, not MORAL rights.
5. DO NOT CRITICIZE OR BELITTLE ANYONE.
Make sure she knows what the rules are. The best debaters often find a way to twist the rules around.
A little humor can go a long way; too much can be a disaster. Your friend is supposed to be an advocate for a point of view, not a comedian.
If circumstances permit, a little humility might work well: "As we conclude this debate, I feel I must say that some of the positions I have taken may NOT be ones that I would advocate. BUT...[whatever]."
Reply:That is rather broad. For example, one would be hard pressed to argue that prisoners have no right to not be murdered by the warden. On the other hand, lawsuits about crunchy and creamy peanut butter are a different story. Narrow your subject matter and you might get some help.
Reply:rights are a privilege you earn them in society,did they consider the rights of their victims
canine teeth
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