Blog Post 5

One's rights are limited significantly once incarcerated. Every citizen has constitutional rights protected by the federal government, however, some of these rights do not extend or are limited for prisoners. Some of these limited rights are listed under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th, and 14th Amendments. Some other collateral consequences of being incarcerated are impaired access to or enjoyment of, the ordinary rights and benefits associated with citizenship or residence which include not being allowed to vote, losing your driver's license, or having restrictions on where you can live. There is also impaired economic opportunities as many employers will not hire convicted felons. 

The 8th amendment is a right against cruel and unusual punishment, excessive fines, and bail. The 13th amendment is the abolishment of slavery. The eight amendment affects prisoners against cruel and unusual punishment, such as being executed through the electric chair for capital punishment. It also prevents excessive fines for low-level crimes. The 13 amendment does not apply to prisoners, but it remains controversial as many would argue that those behind bars resemble the modern slave. Inmates often do labor-intensive work, for wages well below the minimum wage. 

I support rights-are-retained, however, the reality is that we live in a right-are-lost society. Inmates are often faced with economic hardships and felony disenfranchisement, where inmates lose the privilege to vote. Today, an estimated five million Americans cannot vote due to these laws. Due to my support of the rights-are-retained positon. I do think the 13th amendment should apply to inmates as companies should not be able to increase their profit margins by taking advantage of prison labor. I also think many non-violent and low-level offenders should have the right to vote. By allowing these individuals to vote, politicians will be more incentivized to pay attention to more issues in the correctional system.