Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Criminal Justice - Essay Example However, the exacting of the inmate’s freedoms, liberties and choices must be balanced, so that the social or public order is not disturbed. The public order is the prison the inmate is serving in. It is in the interest of social order that every inmate is to be accorded treatment or medical attention, as a way of upholding the US’ civil rights, justice and social order. However, room is left for inmates to exercise choice. Nevertheless, the declining of medical attention is seen to contravene public order in the event that the patient’s medical condition can affect social order. Mental illness, communicable diseases and urgent and important vaccines to an outbreak are some of the conditions which may directly affect public order. The crux of the matter above is that if the inmate is not accorded medical attention when he is in any of the three conditions above, he is likely to endanger the lives and health of other inmates and prison staff as well. Therefore, the exacting of forceful treatment will be being done for the good of the inmate, the rest of the inmates, the prison staff and US (or state) interests. It must also be remembered from the outset that life belongs to the state. Because of this, declining medical attention to a point where the life of the inmate may be in danger is akin to and amounts to breaching public order. No one has a right to take his life, even if it is by resisting medical attention. The two polarities (individual rights and public order) can be balanced by passing a legal injunction which would give prison authorities the power to administer treatment to specific medical conditions, if the inmate resisted. Some of these specific medical conditions that would bestow power on prison authorities include the refusal to receive medical attention because of mental derangement or psychological