Child Death in Custody - Essay Example

Your full December 10, Child death in custody: Introduction: Child imprisonment has for long, remained a topic of debate all over the world because of its enormous effects on the family instantly related to the child and the society as a whole. Owing to the limited stamina and temperament of children, prison proves very inappropriate for them in that many die while in prison. An in-depth analysis of the conventional conditions in prison and the existent practices reveals that everything in prison is, indeed too harsh for children, and many can not stand them. There is dire need to inculcate a better understanding of the prison’s impact on the psychological and physical health of the children in the law makers so that the criminal justice system can be improvised so as to make it a little lenient for the children. This can fundamentally be attributed to the unfavorable conditions and the huge restraints imposed on children while in prison. Conventional environment in prison is too harsh for children and young people and makes them susceptible to acquiring diseases and death. Measures need to be taken to make the conditions habitable for young prisoners so that their time in prison inculcates positive changes in them. Pains of incarceration: Researchers in the past have come up with conclusions that stay evident to the pains of incarceration. The term “pains of imprisonment” was coined by Sykes (1958 cited in NHC 14) who pointed out 5 major pains that fundamentally contribute to making the prison inhabitable for children and adolescents. Those were the pains of confinement, deprivation, frustration, enforced association and restriction. All major ways in which imprisonment causes a child to suffer can rightly be depicted by these 5 types of pains. As a child is confined, he/she has to remain distant from friends and family members. Not only this, as he/she remains in prison, he/she earns a bad name in the society and exposes his/her family and friends to social criticism and humiliation. The child personally suffers from social exclusion and there is little possibility of his/her acceptance in the society even after the imprisonment is over. Being in the prison, the child is deprived of all relations, goods, amenities and happiness. The children have little control over their natural physical and mental desirers, and yet, no means to satisfy them. The routine work and duties imposed upon them saps much of their ability to do anything other than those tasks. In addition to that, prison exposes a child to potential criminals. In their fellowship, many neutral children indeed become dangerously equipped with criminal abilities and mentality. Others, that tend to keep a distance from potential criminals have to go through emotional torture within the prison and ultimately, are left with no option but to endorse the enforced association with the criminal inhabitants of the prison. The emotional labor a child goes through, boredom, social exclusion and loneliness mutually combine to cause him/her either to commit suicide or else, die a natural but painful death. Many such cases have been seen in the recent years. One such case is the death of a 16 year old child, Joseph Scholes on 24 March, 2002 (Inquest 1). Having deeply disturbed by the conditions in the Stoke Health Young Offenders Institution, Joseph hanged himself in just the first nine days of the two year long imprisonment he was declared by the judge. Not just this, soon after Joseph’s suicide, five more children in the same prison followed him. Like Joseph Scholes, many other children in their teenage have committed suicides in prison. “Carol Pounders son, Adam Rickwood, was 14 when he hanged himself with his shoelaces while on remand at the Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham in 2004” (The Independent). Secondary factors: In addition to the primary sources of pains in incarceration as discussed above, there are many other factors that make the prison inhabitable for children and adolescents. Such factors include but are not limited to epidemic diseases, inadequate ventilation and risky attitudes displayed by the imprisoned. Among all the causes, epidemic diseases are indeed, the most profound source of inconvenience and pain in prison. Diseases commonly encountered in prison include tuberculosis, STIs and different types of Hepatitis. “Seroprevalence of hepatitis B core antibody in Australian prisons ranges from 18% to 28%, indicating that more than two thirds of the population in prison are vulnerable to infection” (NHC). Asthma and respiratory disorders are common among prisoners because of congested conditions. Respiratory problems together with distress lead a child to heart attack. Social exclusion and confinement upset a child psychologically. Many children end up acquiring Schizophrenia. Suffocation, lack of fresh air, overcrowding, exposure to criminals, susceptibility of acquiring diseases and such other conditions prevalent in prisons increase the verisimilitude of deaths particularly among young prisoners with limited immunity and tolerance. Death records: Analysis of mortality records from past researches reaffirms the consensus that prison is indeed, inhabitable place to live in for children and adolescents from a health and safety perspective. Such circumstances do not make it unusual for a young prisoner to die. Statistics recorded by (Inquest 3) tell that as many as 2819 children have been imprisoned till April 2006, out of which 2346, 244 and 229 were kept in the Young Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes respectively. Out of them, a total of 29 children have embraced death since 1990 (Inquest 3). Owing to such exaggerated rates of mortality among prisoners, much needs to be done to address their mental problems and drug overdose among the imprisoned (Kariminia et al). Conclusion: Child and adolescent death in custody is totally unacceptable. Imprisonment of children below 18 years of age is indeed, a serious violation of the international standards of human rights and hence, should be condemned (Scraton and Moore 11). Many children indulge in criminal activities because of the conditions they are offered by the society to live in when they are free. Not many child prisoners come from well off and socially well adjusted families. Instead, a vast majority of child prisoners come from poor family backgrounds and have been exposed to racism and social exclusion. Many indulge in crime merely to satisfy their basic needs because of economic constraints. Besides, there are yet others who commit crimes because of their mental illness and end up being imprisoned. It is indeed, a fact that it takes a lot of intelligence and bravery to commit a crime. Children committing crime are actually brave and intelligent. Although it does not sound very rational to defend them given their immoral and unethical activities that cause inconvenience to the society in many ways, yet children’s death while in prison deprives the society of many potential members that could have been made to benefit the society, had their imprisonment been conducive for their positive physical and psychological nurturing. Conventional setup in jails and cells are so unfavorable for the little prisoners that many do not manage to live their way out of them. If the law did not decide death for a child, why should he/she be exposed to conditions unfavorable for his/her health. Loss of an imprisoned family member affects all associated with the deceased and puts them into tragedy (Malik cited in Ministry of Justice). Being members of the society, they tend to influence many others and ultimately, many people in the society suffer from various physical and mental issues. Death of imprisoned children and adolescents creates thematic issues which call for a resourced investigation so that adequate measures may be taken to safeguard them. Works cited: “Deaths in prison custody 2008.” Ministry of Justice. 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. . Inquest. “Why are children dying in custody: Call for a public inquiry into the death of Joseph Scholes.” P. 1-3. July 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. . Kariminia A, Butler TG, Corben SP, Levy MH, Grant L, Kaldor JM, and Law MG. “Extreme cause-specific mortality in a cohort of adult prisoners—1988 to 2002: a data-linkage study.” International Journal of Epidemiology. vol. 36. Issue 2. 2006. “Review of research on the effects of imprisonment on the health of inmates and their families.” National Health Committee. 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. . Scraton, Phil and Moore, Linda. “The prison within: The imprisonment of women at HydebankWood 2004-06.” Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. pp. 1-133. 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. . The Independent. “Report bid to reduce deaths in custody.” 21 Sep, 2007. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. . Read More