Prison Law CJRS435: Prisons and Contemporary Issues

There are many contemporary issues in corrections relating to prisoners’ rights that are topics of ongoing debates in fields of penology, criminology, and corrections administration. Some of the cases regarding these issues have made it to the Supreme Court, whereas others have not. In this assignment, the members of your group will research the following issues in corrections today and provide information on the viewpoints from the different sides of the debate. The issues are as follows: •Organ transplants •Four-point restraints •Sweat lodges •Three-way calls •Legal materials in the library Your task is to choose one of the above-listed topics, and develop a PowerPoint Presentation of at least 7 slides that discusses your chosen topic. •For your chosen contemporary corrections issue, answer the following questions: ◦What court cases involved this issue? ◦What were the decisions of the lower courts? ◦Did any of the cases make it to the Supreme Court? ◾If so, what was the Supreme Court decision? ◾If not, is the case still active? Explain. ◦What is the general opinion that society seems to have with regard to this issue? ◦Have any organizations opposed to the court decisions made progress with regard to prisoners’ rights? ◦How do you foresee the outcome of the debate regarding the issue? •Address each issue by answering the following: ◦What steps can corrections officials take to resolve the issue? ◦What are the responsibilities of corrections officials? ◦If there is no clear resolution, what precautions can corrections officials take to avoid violating prisoners’ constitutional rights? •The final presentation should contain the following elements: ◦7–10 PowerPoint slides with 100–150 words of speaker notes per slide ◦A reference slide that contains all of the references used from each of the group members Title and reference slides do not count as part of the assignment slide totals.