Prison Conditions

Prison conditions are a concern and it's very evident. When we watched the documentary "The Prisoners of Riker's Island", we saw how small the rooms were, how many prisoners weren't getting adequate treatment for their mental health problems and injuries, and much more. The issues get overlooked because everyone has the notion that the inmates are in jail for a reason but people fail to understand that a lot of the inmates locked up are in prisons when they really need help. 

Prison officials have to be one of the most disgusting people ever. Just like with police officers, if you don't speak out against the prison officials who abuse prisoners sexually or mentally, threaten inmates, and ignore inmates when they need help then you're part of the problem. It's not right that more than "60,000 people in the U.S. are held in solitary confinement". They are locked in a small cell for 23 hours a day and when they're let out, they can only shower, exercise, or get medical help. Even then they are denied "calls or visits from family members. All this time spent in solitary confinement can lead to major mental health problems and even suicide. " Nationwide, suicides among people held in isolation account for almost 50% of all prison suicides, even though less than 8% of the prison population is in isolation". 

Why is that in the very first line in the Declaration of Independence it says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." yet this isn't seen anywhere in any prison complex? The criminal justice system and the media don't even treat black and brown people as human beings so it doesn't come as a surprise that the prisons, that have a lot of black and brown inmates, do the same as well.