Essay On Prison Safety And Security

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Safety Regarding the First Amendment In Prison


The First Amendment of the constitution allows us the freedom to practice the religion of our choosing, the right to speak freely in public and in press, as well as the right to assemble and peacefully protest issues of which we feel strongly. However, the rights we have as free citizens differ considerably in comparison to that of prisoners. Prisoners are allowed these rights, but only to an extent to which it does not affect the safety of themselves or other inmates, nor cause an overwhelming burden on prison administrators. There are many cases won and lost by prisoners regarding the First Amendment, and within the following paragraphs I will discuss these cases in depth.
First, I will discuss …show more content…

In Knuckles v. Prasse, the "clear and present danger" test was created by the United States Supreme Court. This states that religious freedoms could be impeded in some cases in which "clear and present danger of a breach of prison security or discipline or some other substantial interference with the orderly functioning of the institution." Such instances can be found in the cases of Wojtczak v Cuyler and McDonald v. Hall, in which it was viewed as 'not arbitrary or capricious' that prison administrators did not allow prisoners kept in segregation to leave their cell and join religious services. Similarly, in Cooper v. Pate, inmates were restricted of practicing their religion when prison officials proved that they had prior record of abusing that right. It is also prison policy that a prison official always oversee prisoners meeting for religious congregation. This is to ensure that the meet up does not give heed to violent ideology which may incite a riot, nor promote terroristic extremism or gang related

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