This document discusses legal issues related to corrections and the death penalty. It covers topics like constitutional principles, prisoners' rights, statutes, case law, regulations, access to courts, and key Supreme Court decisions. Prisoners' rights issues are examined under the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 14th Amendments. Grievance procedures, ombudsmen, mediation, and legal assistance for inmates are also addressed.

1. Correctional
Issues

2. Legal Issues and the Death Penalty

3.  Constitutions
 Basic principles
 Procedural safeguards
 Institutions of government
▪ Legislature, judiciary, executive
 Powers of government
 Rights of individuals
 Bill of Rights

4.  Restrictions on the Rights of Prisoners
 Maintenance of institutional order
 Maintenance of institutional security
 Rehabilitation of inmates

5.  Statutes
 Laws passed by the legislatures
 Federal and state
 More specific than constitutions

6.  Case Law
 Court decisions
 Precedent
 Regulations
 Rules made by federal, state, and local
administrative agencies

7.  The End of the Hands-off Policy
 Cooper v. Pate (1964)
 Habeas corpus
 Anti-Terrorism Act
 Prisoner Litigation Reform Act

8.  Access to the Courts
 Jailhouse lawyers
 Law libraries
 The Prisoners’ Rights Movement
 NAACP’s legal defense and education fund
 American Civil Liberties Union

9.  The First Amendment
 Least restrictive method
 Compelling state interest
 Clear and present danger
 Rational basis test
▪ Rational connection
▪ Alternative means
▪ Minimal impact
▪ No less-restrictive alternative

10.  The First Amendment
 Speech
▪ Censorship of mail only allowed in cases of
compelling government interest in maintaining
security
 Religion
▪ Black Muslims
▪ Native Americans
▪ Orthodox Jews

11.  The Fourth Amendment
 Selected Interpretations of the Fourth Amendment as
Applied to Prisoners

12.  The Eighth Amendment
 Tests to determine constitutionality
▪ whether the punishment shocks the general
conscience of a civilized society
▪ whether the punishment is unnecessarily cruel, and
▪ whether the punishment goes beyond legitimate
penal aims
 Totality of conditions
 Extreme conditions

13.  The Fourteenth Amendment
 Due process in prison discipline
▪ Solitary confinement
▪ Good-time credit
 Equal protection
▪ Racial discrimination
▪ Female offenders

14.  A Change in Judicial Direction
 Less supportive of prisoners rights over the
last 30 years
 Deliberate-indifference

15.  Section 1983 Lawsuits

16.  Inmate-Grievance Procedures
 Most correctional systems use a three-step
inmate-grievance process
▪ Receipt of complaint
▪ Investigation of complaint
▪ Decision
 Some grievances easier to resolve than others

17.  The Ombudsman
 Investigates complaints and recommends action
 Mediation
 Voluntary process
 Intervention by a neutral third party
 Legal Assistance
 “jailhouse” lawyers
 Law school clinics

18.  Key U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
 Furman v. Georgia (1972)
 Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
 Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
 Ring v. Arizona (2002)
 Roper v. Simmons (2005)

19.  Executions by State, 1976-2009

20.  Continuing Legal Issues
 Execution of the mentally ill
 Effectiveness of counsel
 Death-qualified juries
 Execution for child rape
 Appeals

21.  Who Is on Death Row?