Prison Conditions in the United States and Russia

Maximum security prisons have grown in recent decades and have implemented methods some may deem inhumane. A 2016 article discusses prison conditions in maximum security prisons and addresses specifically the topic of preservation of human dignity and disease prevention. The author mentions the Dudley Lee v. Minister of Correctional Services case that held "that prison authorities have a duty of care to prevent prisoners from being infected with HIV-related illnesses such as TB" (Torriente, Tadion, & Hsu, 2016). The applicant was sent to a maximum security prison in South Africa where he eventually was diagnosed three years later with TB. Another instance of the government and its failure to acknowledge the need to safeguard a prisoner's health is the R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex-parte Glen Fielding. Here the case discusses of a prisoner in the United Kingdom asking for condoms and being denied unless given a prescription. The government in that case, did not want to encourage homosexuality.

The article continues by explaining the update to the United Nations rule update concerning prisoner rights. "On December 17, 2015, at its 70th Session, the UN General Assembly adopted a revised version of the SMR, referred to as the Nelson Mandela Rules (Resolution A/RES/70/175)" (Torriente, Tadion, & Hsu, 2016). Rule 24 of the update rules confirms that prisoners should be given the same rights as those outside of prison in regards to proper healthcare. The article provides a key look at the worldwide trend of ignoring the health concerns of those imprisoned, especially in the maximum security prisons, pointing to the need for reform in this key area. It also shows the updated UN rules regarding prisoner rights worldwide.

Maximum Security Prisons in the United States

In a 2005 article describing conditions in maximum security prisons, the author examines the increased media coverage of prisoner abuse and the concern organizations like the International Red Cross have with U.S. confinement techniques as well as U.S. prison policies promoting overcrowding, abuse, and violation of human rights laws. "Accounts of long-term solitary confinement and other torture techniques demonstrate that current detention methods are not indications of U.S. leadership in human rights" (Vasiliades, 2005, p. 72). Maximum security prisons seem to be a place where harsh treatment of civilian prison populations is allowed with the near prevalent practice of lengthy solitary confinement. Prisoners at this level of prison must endure years of solitary confinement with international criminals in one of America's most notorious maximum security prisons, enduring water boarding and forced feeding.

However, the author focuses more on solitary confinement and its reintroduction as the main form of punishment in American maximum security prisons. Beginning in America with Quakers, Quakers practice solitary confinement up until they saw the psychological damage experienced by prisoners confined in that way. In New York the author details of an experiment where all inmates were kept continuously in solitary confinement. The results expected to be favorable showed the exact opposite. " ... proved fatal for the majority of prisoners. It devours the victims incessantly and unmercifully; it does not reform, it kills" (Vasiliades, 2005, p. 73).

The article continues by describing the first supermax prison in Marion, Illinois. It was built in 1963 with most maximum security prisons replicating the same structure or the "Marion Model." Continuing with discussion of the kinds of problems that arise from solitary confinement, hallucinations, overt paranoia, and aggressive fantasies to name a few, cause great psychological suffering and impairment for those kept in isolation for so long. The article also mentioned United States is a signatory to various treating that integrate human rights standards following World War II. Ever since the United Nations Charter of 1945, prisoner rights have increased greatly even though prisoner protection was largely formulated in the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Maximum Security Prisons in Russia

In a 2013 new article, writer Engel describes what life is like for a prisoner in the most notorious maximum security prison in Russia. The Black Dolphin Prison, is the oldest prisons in the country and the first to introduce life sentences in Orenburg. Near the Kazakhstan border, prisoners include child molesters, cannibals, terrorists, and serial killers. The conditions as described in the article include pacing back and forth in a second cell for exercise and staying with other roommate in another cell for the remainder.