Do you believe healthcare is a privilege or a human right? Explain. Do you think about it differently in the context of jails and prisons? If yes, how so? If no, why is that?

What were your reactions to learning about the healthcare systems in prisons this week?

Critical Analysis Prompt:

First, discuss how incarceration leads to disability or worsen people’s disabilities.

Then, explain how the structures of jails and prisons are violent or dangerous for disabled people.

Lastly, describe how jail and prison healthcare is perilous for incarcerated people. How does it affect their physical and mental health? How does privatization create additional issues for these sytems? What reforms does the system need?

In watching the videos for class this week, it was very interesting to hear all of the facts about the prisons and how many individuals with disabilities are held in them. It was also informative to actually see the prisons and hear some of the prisoners speak in the videos. One thing I think a lot of people neglect when making judgements in cases like this are that it’s important to actually hear from the people affected by the problems. It’s one thing to simply state an opinion on prisoners and prisons but actually getting the chance to see and hear a prisoner or prisoners speak gives more perspective.

Another thing I think people don’t really think about is how people with disabilities are in prisons. If they took the time to think about how difficult it would be to have some of the mental illnesses the prisoners have and operate without medication because they don’t have access to it and have no support, they might change their opinions a little bit. A good example would be someone with depression or anxiety being arrested and put in prison with no medication potentially. Prison is obviously a place no one really wants to be and thus someone with depression and anxiety can have their symptoms amplified dramatically by the stressful settings.

Another example could be someone without a disability entering a prison and being so disheartened or scared that they develop depression or anxiety.

Beyond the general issues individuals with disabilities face when being incarcerated, the structure and system of prion doesn’t exactly make it any easier on them. Prisons are widely regarded as an extremely stressful and dangerous place where violence occurs regularly. For someone with a disability, it can be hard to regulate emotions or understand situations and this can lead to conflict that can lead to injury or death. Some disabled prisoners may be more prone to violence as they may not be able to defend themselves an are thus seen as easy targets. Regardless, individuals with disabilities are generally not taken care of how they most likely should b in prisons and are thus exposed to extremely poor conditions and circumstances.

Finally, when discussing health care for incarcerated people, many times the topic is centered around how poor the health care system really is. Many times, individuals dealing with mental illness are not treated at all how they should be in order to deal with the illnesses. As discussed in the videos, often times, inmates who are dealing with suicidal thoughts are not given at all the right care and sometimes the care they receive from the prison can actually drive them to take their own lives. Many times incarcerated individuals with mental illnesses can actually have their illnesses worsened due to the conditions they face in prisons and the lack of care and support. Privatization in prison health care is a problem in and of itself, but privatization can often make poor care in prisons worse by cutting back on the care budgets and forcing untrained prison staff to have to deal with individuals with mental illnesses when they don’t know what to do. While there are many reforms the prison health care system needs, some changes that are somewhat feasible would be better usage of compassionate release would allow many older and disabled prisoners who pose no threat to society to leave the prison, increasing the money the prisons have by decreasing the amount of prisoners. Another change could be ton just devote any more time than they are right now to the care of their prisoners.

Incarceration leads to disability and worsens people’s disabilities. People incarcerated have less access, sometimes none, to healthcare and medical help. “CDC advises that adults with disabilities "are three times more likely than adults without disabilities to have heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer,” (Schotland, 2021).  This makes access to healthcare important for incarcerated disabled people since they are at high risk for other conditions. When healthcare is denied or neglected, it worsens already diagnosed conditions and can possibly add more disabilities. Along with that, the structures of jails and prisons are dangerous for disabled people. A lot of jails and prisons don’t have the proper medical staff available or are unstaffed. This structure can be harmful to the incarcerated because they don’t get proper treatment which could lead to death. Also, the punishment of confinement can be dangerous. Instead of it being simple punishment, it can cause serious health or mental decline in individuals. Lastly. Jail and prison healthcare is perilous for incarcerated people. Many places fail to provide medical attention to the incarcerated. It deteriorates their physical and mental health. Privatization makes these problems even worse. Profit usually comes before people’s well-being in terms of private companies. Because of all of this, reform is urgently needed. Schotland has stated some recommendations for reform such as, expand compassionate release, correctional facilities should offer adequate medical care, and lawmakers attend incarceration facilities.

Incarceration leads to the worsening of peoples disabilities. For example, in the video ‘The Perils of Private Prison Health Care’ in a lot of instances inside this prison had led to many suicide deaths. For instance, the prison facilities did not provide adequate care for Marium which had led to her death by suicide. People with mental health issues are already struggling with their own problems but this facility used solitary confinement as punishment. One day, Marium was sent to solitary confinement and a little later, she hung herself. I feel that if they provided better solutions or therapies, this all would have been avoided. Prisons and jails are very dangerous for individuals with disabilities as they may act out in public settings, and other inmates not know of their disability resulting in consequences for that disabled inmate. With prisons and jails, this can affect their mental and physical health due to other inmates hurting them but on top that it can help them more mentally due to not getting any health. Furthermore, if they are not getting the help they need, their mental health can get worse. Privitization such as separate rooms and solitary confinement can cause additional issues since everyone needs a sense of community and belonging. Humans needs to be surrounded by one another and not confined to themselves. Some reforms that can possibly be made is the therapies available, taking away solitary confinement, a higher budget, better staff, more psychiatrists, and much more.

Learning about prison healthcare this week really opened my eyes. In the CBS News (2019) piece “The Perils of Private Prison Health Care,” it was wild seeing how much private companies control the care people get. They try to save money by cutting off meds, skipping treatments, or delaying appointments. People literally die because of neglect. It reminded me of Good Kings Bad Kings, where the disabled kids were ignored and mistreated just to make things easier for the staff. The same thing happens in prisons—people are treated like problems, not humans.

The Vice (2015) video “Institutionalized: Mental Health Behind Bars” also stuck with me. Prisons are basically being used as mental health facilities now, but they’re not made for that. People with serious mental health needs just get worse inside. It’s sad to see how the system punishes people for being sick instead of helping them heal. Healthcare should always be a right, even behind bars.

Critical Analysis Prompt

Prison can definitely cause disabilities or make them worse. The environment itself is super harsh—bad food, little movement, no sunlight, and tons of stress. The Vice (2015) video showed people with mental illness getting punished instead of treated, which just makes things worse. Being in a place that cold and isolated can easily break you down, physically and mentally.

Prisons are also dangerous for people with disabilities because they aren’t built for accessibility. Someone in a wheelchair might not have ramps or working elevators. Deaf or blind people often don’t get what they need either. It reminded me of Good Kings Bad Kings, where the kids were trapped in an institution that didn’t actually care for them. Prisons do the same thing—they trap people who need care and then ignore their needs.

The CBS News (2019) report showed how private prison healthcare makes everything worse. When companies are focused on profit, they cut costs instead of helping people. Schotland (2021) even argued that disabled or dying prisoners should be released early because the system clearly can’t care for them.

If prisons are going to keep existing, they need major changes: better medical staff, real oversight, and no more for-profit healthcare. People don’t stop being human when they get locked up—they still deserve basic care and dignity.

Prison for a disabled would be bad because there no like a regular human , there also more vulnerable to physical punishment or abuse by staff or other inmates especially if there disability are not properly understood or accommodated

Healthcare in prisons are generally considered a crucial component of human rights and is viewed as a necessary service that should be accessible to all individuals including those incarcerated

In the CBS News report “The Perils of Private Prison Health Care,” we see how private companies cut costs to save money, leaving people to suffer or even die from neglect. One case showed a woman with mental illness who didn’t get proper treatment and ended up taking her own life. That made me realize how dangerous it is when profit comes before care.

In Schotland’s (2021) “Let Them Go! Compassionate Release for Disabled Prisoners,” we learn that many prisoners are older or disabled and often can’t get the medical attention they need. Schotland argues they should be released with compassion instead of being left to die behind bars.

After seeing all of this, I definitely think about healthcare differently in the context of prisons. People inside have no freedom to find their own doctors or make choices. If healthcare is a right, it shouldn’t disappear just because someone is incarcerated.

Critical Analysis Prompt

How incarceration causes or worsens disability:

According to Schotland (2021), prison conditions make disabilities worse. The lack of medical access, poor facilities, and constant stress lead to both physical and mental decline.

How prisons are violent for disabled people:

The Vice (2015) video “Institutionalized: Mental Health Behind Bars” shows that prisons aren’t designed for people with mental illness. Many are punished instead of treated—put in isolation or restraint chairs—which worsens their condition. This is a form of structural violence because the system harms people simply for being disabled.

The dangers of prison healthcare and privatization:

CBS News (2019) showed how private health contractors cut corners—low staffing, skipped medications, and ignored emergencies. This neglect hurts both body and mind. People develop untreated diseases, trauma, and hopelessness. When money becomes the main goal, care stops being care.

Needed reforms:

As Schotland suggests, the system needs compassionate release for seriously ill and disabled inmates. Prisons should have stronger oversight of private health providers and require community-level medical standards. More mental health professionals, better training for staff, and fewer profit incentives would help protect lives

I believe that healthcare is a human right. Evaluations and appointment are a human right to me, but things like receiving specific services like getting medicine can be a privilege. I don’t think of it any different for prisons and jails. I was really irritated and upset while I was learning about healthcare in prisons settings.  After watching the CBS News and see how Miriam was treated. The CBS News gives an eye-opening reality of what it was truly like to be on continuous watch is and what it’s like in prison. From clothes being taken, constant watching from police, the room being cover in fecal matter, and then to being put into the same smock that everyone else was put into blood and all. People in Arizona state prison systems were dying not because of suicide, but rather from illnesses that weren’t getting treated. (CBS News) Specifically, Ferdinand Dix had gone untreated for a small lung cancer cell that ended up spreading to the liver, lymph nodes and other major organs that caused sepsis, kidney and liver failure because he was left untreated. (CBS News) He should have the basic right of healthcare to get treatment for that, but instead he didn’t get treated. With the people dying in Arizona state prison, in 2014 Arizona agreed to do separate performance measures for simple benchmarks, like people who need to see a specialist needs to be seen every 60 days, but they should have already been doing. (CBS News) Just seeing that it is actually worse than what was talked about in class and seeing the magnitude of what is going on is just sickening.

Critical Analysis

Incarceration can make easily cause disabilities or worse people’s disabilities. This is partly due to the lack of access to healthcare. CBS News talked about how the standard benchmarks for check up never really happened on time. With that someone’s injuries can turn into something worse and cause a disability. The structure of jails and prisons are dangerous/violent for the disabled because there is nothing being done to fix the system. Prisons have failed to provide safe living conditions for disabled prisoners and after the pandemic condition just declined more (Scotland, 2021). Prisoners just don’t have the best accessibility to healthcare which can be dangerous to their physical and mental health. States like Illinois has cut 32% of funding towards mental health in prisons from 2009 to 2012 despite the rise of the public health crisis. (Vice, 2015). Taking these services away from people in prison who are screened for mental health issue and typically have them, is just going to the situation worse. Privatization of these health related help services has just make it less accessible for people in prison. The prices of services and who these prisoners can see, decrease significantly because they don’t have the access to money to be seen by a medical practitioner. I think that we need to increase the state spending for mental health services instead of decreasing them. Privatization of services that are medical related also just needs to be gone. Prisoners can’t get the help they need, if we just keep changing the accessibility they have to them.