Pretrial Detention free essay sample

Today throughout the world pretrial detention has caused many issues in which this paper will look further into. Some of the issues that will be explored in this paper are how pretrial detention is causing overcrowded prisons, and how that is affecting our society. Another issue that will be looked upon is the expression â€Å"innocent until proven guilty†. There are times when a offender waits in jail until his hearing for a number of years and ends up being proved innocent. What should be done for the time lost in this person’s life for waiting in a jail cell for a crime that was never committed? These are issues that concern everyone in our society; this paper will explain possible ways to bring justice to these individuals. Pretrial detention causes all types of issues from the positive and negative effects it takes on people, overcrowded prisons, and weather or not it violates certain amendments. The reason for pretrial detention is the fear that serious criminals may re-offended while in the community. More than 20% of people arrested for murder and released on bail are arrested for new charges this is known as avertable residuals. This could have been prevented if the criminal had been behind bars. About 1/3 of released defendants are either re-arrested for a new offense, failure to appear in court or commit some other violation. Pretrial detention requires that certain dangerous defendants be confined before trial for their own and the community this decision is placed by the judge. Pretrial detention can be good for the community because it controls the future behavior of suspected criminals. However, people ask the question; Is it punishment before trial? Civil libertarians believe it violates the due process clause of the constitution because it means that a person will be held in custody by proven guilty or innocent. Other people argue that it is not punishment because why would society want criminals on the streets who potentially may not show up for their court date or may re-offend. Although pretrial detention is a good way to keep alleged criminals off the street there are many negative effects to it. For example, in Harris county jail down in Texas more than 11,500 inmates are there waiting in pretrial detention which is causing major overcrowding in prisons. In which most of the inmates crimes are possession of crack pipe or minuscule of drugs. In the constitution it guarantees the right to a speedy trial, if that is the case than why are more than 500 of these inmates in Harris county jail in pretrial detention for over a year. About 1,200 have been jailed six months or more though many face only minor felony charges, such as bouncing checks, credit card fraud, trespassing or even civil violations ( Harris County Sheriff Office, 2009). Around 200 inmates, supposedly â€Å"innocent until proven guilty†, have already served then minimum sentence for the crime they may have not even committed. There are plenty of inmates in the Harris county jail that have allegedly been convicted of non-violent crimes that still remain in the jail awaiting trial. Since the jails are so overcrowded many of these inmates end up having mattresses on the floor which they sleep on or they get sent to overcrowded cells. This is not fair to the inmates awaiting trial considering some of them may actually be proven innocent so why should they have to live like that for months and months when they have the wrong person behind bars. This could be seen as a violation of the Fifth Amendment. Out of 38,000 cases last year only 376 people got released on bond. Many offenders even the ones that just get convicted of misdemeanors can not afford to post bond which means they end up in pretrial detention until their trial. This is another reason to why the prisons are becoming so full with allegedly convicted criminals in pretrial detention. The eighth amendment states excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted, yet what exactly is cruel or unusual punishment? Can pretrial detention be considered cruel and unusual punishment considering the alleged criminal may be innocent and spend months to years in pretrial detention for something they may have never committed. Even criminals in pretrial detention who could have convicted a minor crime may not deserve to wait in pretrial detention as long as they do. Although, the alleged criminals in pretrial detention are not being physically punished some defiantly are being mentally punished. However, the justice system does not think about how the alleged criminal feels neither does most of society to them its better to keep someone who may or may not be guilty in pretrial detention then to have them on the streets. However, to the alleged criminal especially the innocent ones this is defiantly cruel and unusual punishment why should they have to be locked up in a little room, and loose months to years on their lives because the United States justice system can not guarantee a speedy trial like there expected to do. The United States criminal justice system should not have alleged criminals wait in pretrial detention if they are being convicted of lesser charges. After the alleged criminals arraignment, the ones of lesser charges should just be set on bond this way there would be less overcrowding in prisons. If the alleged criminal could not afford the bond the court should be able to work something out where they lower the bond or the alleged criminal can put something worth value up. The eighth amendments also states excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed. This is to protect those charged with crimes so they have a fair chance to post bond or bail and not have to wait in pretrial detention. There are still a countless number of alleged criminals in pretrial detention who cannot afford to post bond or bail. This could be considered discrimination to the lower class of society because they may be innocent or have a minor crime and just not have the money to post bond, so why should they have to sit in pretrial detention? In a study done in 1960 by L. Schweitzer (reported in Goldfarb, 1965), it was found that of the 114,653 people who received pretrial detention because they could not pay bail, only 27% were subsequently convicted and given jail sentences (Ebbesen, Konecni, 1975). In another study in Philadelphia, of 1,000 defendants who could not afford to pay bail and were therefore detained, over two thirds were either acquitted or, if convicted, were not given jail sentences (Ebbesen, Konecni, 1975). There are many ways to look at this amendment and pretrial detention and see how mentally it could be considered cruel and unusual punishment to the alleged offenders. The Fifth Amendment states that no one can be tried for a serious crime unless indicted by a grand jury. No one can be forced to testify against themselves. No one can be punished without due process of law and people must be paid for property taken for public use. Due process is a very important part when a suspected offender is going through the criminal justice system. The person under arrest can only be held so long without the criminal justice system violating the due process clause. A person waiting in pretrial detention depends on the due process clause so they do not have to wait a lengthy time in pretrial detention and have a right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of thier peers. In the United States v. Salerno, the United States Supreme Court held that pretrial detention without bail on the grounds of dangerousness violates neither the fifth nor eighth amendment to the United States Constitution (Eason, 1988). Although, pretrial detention does not violate the fifth nor eighth amendment according to the Supreme Court to the individual waiting for trial they can feel like their rights are being violated depending on the time they wait in pretrial detention. Amendment six in the constitution states in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial. Although, this is in the United States Constitution people who sit in pretrial detention and await their speedy trial may question what exactly is a speedy trial? In the United States a speedy trial is when the defendant is tried for the alleged crimes within a reasonable time after being arrested. Often the question asked is does the trial come speedy enough, under the sixth amendment it all comes down to the circumstances of the case itself sometimes cases can even be dropped if the alleged criminal waits to long in pretrial detention. Since there is no hard and fast rule on how long is too long, one rule of thumb is eight months. This means that that the alleged offender should have a trial within eight months or it is considred too long that the alleged criminal has waited in pretrial detetion. For example murder cases can take at least six months and often longer before even going to trial to some people a half year to years is not their definition of a speedy trial. Minor cases like small amount of drugs where the person may only get charged with a misdemeanor or minor felony charge usually take place within six months even then having to wait six months for a minor crime or a crime not even committed can seem like a lengthy time to sit in pretrial detention. This is definitely making the prisons very overcrowded and criminals who need to stay in jail may be released early due to all the inmates in pretrial detention awaiting their speedy trial. Raymond Buckley, a defendant in the national publicized McMartin preschool molestation case, was detained for almost four years without bail (Miller Guggenheim, 1990-1991). Raymond Buckley was accused of molestation of a preschool boy by a paranoid schizophrenia mother. There were over 360 children supposedly who had been abused but there were no physical evidence to prove anything. Prosecutors questioned the children numerous amount of times and most of the time the children would tell a different story than the last or have bizarre allegations against Buckley. The prosecution then gave up trying to obtain a conviction, and granted Ray Buckey bail. The alleged offender waited four years before his trial in pretrial detention before and was not even convicted of any wrong doing. This case is an example of how the United States Justice System did not give Raymond Buckley a speedy trial. Although, in the end he was convicted of 39 of the 52 accounts the trial should have been much faster, four years before even getting to trial is defiantly too long to wait in pretrial detention. Pretrial detention causes all types of issues from the positive and negative effects it takes on people, overcrowded prisons, and weather or not it violates certain amendments like the fifth, sixth and eighth. Pretrial detention does have its positive effects like keeping criminals who may re offend off the streets which makes our society safer. It is causing overcrowding in prisons which means other criminals are being released early and it is costing our tax dollars more to keep people in prison. According to the United States Constitution people in pretrial detention have a right to a speedy trial and no cruel and unusual punishment shall be brought upon them. However, the question then becomes what is a speedy trial along with what is considered cruel and unusual punishment. Sitting in a jail cell for a crime a person may or may not have committed waiting to go to trial that can take months to years this may seem cruel and defiantly not a speedy trial. Although, if the alleged offender is being tried within eight months it is technically is considered speedy trial by law. Eight months to the alleged offender may not seem speedy enough for them especially if they end up being innocent. Pretrial detention is a significant issue that needs to be looked upon more then it is currently is, there are issues that need to be done to fix the problems that occur in pretrial detention.