No ‘Ho’lding Back: Brutality Behind Bars

ELTON HO
Copy Editor

Throughout the history of the U.S. it appears there have always been certain unfortunate groups shunned by society, unable to participate in the freedoms that their country had promised them. It is easy to imagine that current society has already eliminated these injustices. However, one group remains neglected and confined by definition: prisoners.

Ironically, our relatively peaceful, prosperous and liberty-loving country has the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world. Harsh sentences for relatively minor offenses have created an incarceration rate off the charts—5 to 10 times higher than any other founding member of NATO, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

Not only is our imprisonment rate exorbitantly high, but our treatment of prisoners remains deplorable. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, many prisoners lack access to adequate health care, basic sanitation and protection from assault. Many face isolation, denied the ability to read or communicate with the outside world, while others remain in long-term solitary confinement.

There are no easy solutions to an issue of this caliber, but federal investigation and regulation, as well as education and rehabilitation programs can be some initial steps toward progress. Hopefully one day, prisoners will be finally be able to break off their chains and reclaim their rights.