Not an ideal situation, but I would say prisoners do have a right to proper drug treatment, the same as anyone else. It will benefit them psychologically, but also lessen the chance of them re-offending, since they probably ended up in prison in the first place because of their drug habit.
It is very dangerous to go cold turkey on heroin. The prisons should have been helping inmates to recover through treatment, and are responsible for their health. It is right that they should pay compensation....
You shouldn't be angry, I pay taxes and would demand that prisoners be treated humanely. But for the grace of god there go I, and anyone else for that matter. Assistance is the requirement for someone in that sort of mess not punishment. Address the issues to reduce the crime, not continually fill gaols.
I'm glad you spelt it gaol. You won't believe how many British people spell it the American way without ever realising....
The problem is, most people DON'T pay taxes to have prisoners treated humanely. Most people don't want criminals sent to prison to learn their lesson and be rehabilitated. Most people want justice, and they don't see it happening. It's a further degredation of law and order in this country, as well as a spit in the face to the parents who's children were killed by heroin addicts robbing them because they are desperate for their new fix. The law courts are emasculated enough without this insane ruling, it's really no wonder most criminals reoffend, just where exactly is the deterrent...??
Don't worry, you had to earn your nomination for 'You're a Right Wing Bastard But We Like You Award' somehow....
Incidentally, it wasn't a ruling. The government opted to settle out of court because they feared they would lose the case on Human Rights grounds. I think it's dangerous territory to set limits to human rights, else we wander into a very ambiguous territory involving defining different groups as sub human.... The Sun headline was funny today though - 'Hey hey we're the junkies!'
Bravo. I think more convicts should receive payouts in compensation for the hardships suffered during their time inside. Just think of all the potential income they are being deprived of while doing time. It's not right.
It is only right that the prisoners should get compensation. Someone who has been dependent on drugs should not suddenly stop. There was this story I heard in prison about some guy who took drugs whilst in prison. Soon he was forced to go cold turkey and when he got released, he took drugs again and it killed him. It was Ann widecombe who introduced MDT or Mandatory Drug testing. Since she bought it in, drug takers went from cannabis to Heroin.Why you might be asking? Because Heroin can be flushed out a lot quicker by drinking lots of water which is in abundance on prison canteen or indeed the sink. So it wouldn't show up on the MDT. Heroin is far more dangerous than Cannabis so really Ann widicombe is responsible for the deaths of many drug users because she caused nearly every drug user into a Heroin addict. Her comments were not surprising when she started trilling at the top of her voice that human rights has become completely mad. Takes one to know one
To know the real cause of the strangeways riots, we have to look at the way officers brutalise prisoners. It happens everyday and yet nobody does anything about it. This is one of the reasons that the prison service doesn't work. For more inside info, someone start a thread about Prison.
