The U.S. vs. Bailey Case: Escape From Prison and Hard Prison Conditions

Introduction

The U.S. vs. Bailey case was presented before a court whereby the main issue that was being described was that the defendant had crawled through the window as well as the bar to be able to escape from prison. Still, they were arrested after being in hiding for one to three months depending on a defendant. The defendants who escaped from prison claimed that they had been subjected to hard conditions while they were in prison, and some of them were life-threatening. The evidence that was presented to the court showed that it is true that the guards of the prisons subjected the harsh conditions.

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Statement About the Questions of Law

The question of law that is related to the fact that has been presented is the violation of human rights. When people are put into prison, they are expected to be treated as humans. In this case, they are entitled to various rights (Loveless, MAllen & Derry, 2018). Therefore, as the defendants were being mistreated by the prison guards, it is evident that human rights were being violated.

Ruling on the Question of Law

The ruling that was made based on the question of law is that criminals are excused for their criminal conduct if their action was taking part in an unlawful action that would lead to death. In this case, the defendants were accused of their mistakes of escaping the prison since their action was as a result of the events that threaten their lives. It is the horrible conditions as well as the threats of death that they received from the guards that forced these prisoners to find a way that they could escape from prison.

Impact of the Court's Ruling

The ruling that the court made on this issue has several impacts. One of the impacts of this court ruling is that the legal action will be taken against the guards. The main role of the guards was to protect the prisoners from escaping and ensure that they got all their needs. However, the guards, in this case, went against what was expected from them, thus going ahead to mistreat the prison. Therefore, the court ruling, in this case, would result in the legal action being taken against the guards as they violated human rights.

The second impact of this court ruling is that it will lead to an investigation on the kind of treatment that most prisoners receive. This case has provided an insight into the condition that most prisoners could be experiencing in their prisons and maybe the reason why some of them decided to escape. Therefore, the ruling will help to ensure that the prisoners are treated well because they are human, and they also have rights.

Another impact of the court ruling is that the criminals will be acquitted of the charges of escaping the prison. Therefore, these prisoners will only be able to go back to prison to serve the terms that they were supposed to complete. The fourth impact of this court ruling is that it will lead to a review of rulings that have been made earlier on prisoners who had escaped. Many prisoners have escaped prison only to be captured and brought back (Craig & De Burca, 2011). These prisoners were taken before a court of law, and they were sentenced for escaping from prison.

The scenario of the U.S. v. Bailey case shows that there might be a force that resulted in the escape of most prisoners. Therefore, this case will prompt the court to review the case of these prisoners who had escaped and caught to find out if they were subjected to life-threatening situations.

Controversies Surrounding the Case

In the event of a court ruling, various controversies may surround a case. In this case of U.S. v. Bailey, the ruling was made that the defendants were not guilty as they had been subjected to harsh conditions, some of which life was threatening. Their controversy that may arise from this case is that it was not the intention of the defendant to escape from prison. Most of them were willing to serve their term to the fullest without any problem. However, in this scenario, these individuals have been subjected to harsh conditions that threatened their life, thereby forcing them to escape (Craig & De Burca, 2011).

The controversy in this matter would arise because some legal professionals would prefer that these prisoners should have their terms reduced. The terms of these prisoners should be reduced in the sense that there were legally serving their terms but the condition that they were subject to force them to escape. However, other people may be against the matter in the sense that when some of the prisoners are given a short time to serve, it may not resonate with the crimes that they have committee earlier (Lati, 2020).

Scholarly Discussions

According to several legal scholars, most of the individuals who are sentenced to prison, actually comply with the law and agree to serve the terms the court of law has served them (McGaughey, 2017). However, most of these individuals go into these prisons and find that the condition there is not conducive. These individuals will be forced to find a conducive place. Therefore, the need to get a conducive place to stay may influence most of these prisoners to think about escaping.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the U.S. v. Bailey case has presented an important scene between the defendants and the guard. The case explained that the defendants had escaped to prison, and they were later arrested. However, the arrest of these individuals created a major concern as it was discovered that the main reason as to why they escaped from prison was the deplorable condition that was present. Moreover, the guards who were manning the prison threatened them with death. Therefore, this fear made these individuals to find a way that they could escape from prison. The action that the guard took towards these prisoners was against the law as it violated human rights. Therefore, it would be important if these guards would face legal action so that they can be punished for their mistakes. The ruling of this case is likely to create several impacts, such as the review of other cases of prisoners who have escaped to find out if they might have been subjected to unfavorable conditions. Most prisoners are always willing to serve their terms after they have been charged. However, poor conditions within the prison are likely to force the people to find a way out. Therefore, it is recommended that the relevant authorities should take action to ensure that the prisons have good conditions since the prisoners are humans, and they have their rights.

References

Craig, P., & De Burca, G. (2011). E.U. law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford university press.

Lati, M. (2020). Inmates are missing after deadly riots at Mississippi prison. Independent.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/prison-riot-escape-missing-deaths-mississippi-denorris-howell-a9270986.html

Loveless, J., Allen, M., & Derry, C. (2018). Complete criminal law: text, cases, and materials.Oxford University Press.

McGaughey, M. D. (2017). When the United States Loses in a Criminal Case: The GovernmentAppeal Process. J. App. Prac. & Process, 18, 297.https://heinonline.org/holcgibin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jappp18&section=18