Inmates Serving Harsh Sentences in Poor Conditions in US: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Mandatory minimum sentencing and excessively long jail terms are causing the prison population in the United States to surge, while prison conditions need improvement, an annual report by a rights group said Wednesday.
The United States has the highest prison population in the world. Some 2.37 million are currently behind bars at 5,100 federal and state prisons, with about 12 million cycling through the US prison system annually, the fresh Human Rights Watch (HRW) report estimates.
Mandatory minimum penalties for largely drug and weapons-related crimes have resulted in US prisons being filled with low-level offenders, prompting Congress to introduce several reform bills. None of them have become laws, the report indicates, Sputnik News reported.
US courts in 31 states continued last year to impose the death penalty, executing 27 people in 2015 alone. All of them were by lethal injection – despite a long-standing dispute over the use of experimental drug combinations that have been leading to botched executions.
The struggle continues in the United States to limit the use of solitary confinement and reduce its duration, according to the HRW report. An estimated 100,000 inmates are being held in isolation.
Jail staff have been reported to use "unnecessary, excessive, and even malicious force" against prisoners, including those with mental disabilities.
HRW's World Report 2016 is the 26th annual edition that presents the main human rights issues around the world.
