Convicted Felons and Substance Abuse

715 Words3 Pages
Convicted Felons and Substance Abuse Substance Abuse affects every community in every state; there isn’t a community that isn’t affected. One group, in particular, is affected many times over. Convicted felons in their thirties live in a vicious cycle of substance abuse. Some convicted felons are substance abusers before they are sent to prison and others become addicted once they go to prison. However, no matter how they start using, it all leads to the same outcome, without help, they all come out addicted. The relationship between convicted felons and substance abuse has been well established. Convicted felons have a multitude of issues that are hidden by substance abuse; with the proper treatment, they can become law abiding citizens. Historically Convicted felons haven’t been treated the best in the prison systems. There have been a lot of inmates beaten by prison administration, guards, and other inmates. “The average prison in the 1950s was ran by a philosophy that was fifty years behind the times.” (Corsini & Miller, 1954). They didn’t get prisoner rights until the 1960s. It usually didn’t matter what the person had done to become a convicted felon, they were often treated like animals after they got to prison. “In 1980 federal district judge William Wayne Justice issued a ruling in a class action case, Ruiz v. Estelle, filed by inmates in 1972. Justice's ruling, which determined that conditions of confinement violated the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution (the prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment"), required the state to reduce overcrowding, improve prisoner rehabilitation and recreational programs, and refrain from practices deemed detrimental to the prisoners' safety and welfare.” (Lunko,2012). Mental health disorders and Golden 2 substance abuse issues are just now being treated in prisons and jails.
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