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Short Life and Painful Death of Prisoners' Rights

NCJ Number
187562
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 40 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 70-82
Author(s)
J. M. Schone
Date Published
February 2001
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article traces the development of prison law and prisoners' rights in Great Britain over the last 20 years.
Abstract
Twelve years ago Viviane Treacy (1989) predicted a conflict between the common law and the European Convention on Human Rights over the issue of prisoners' rights. At first glance this view seemed overly pessimistic, since Great Britain now has legislation that requires English judges to pay attention to the Convention in their deliberations (Human Rights Act 1998). Two Court of Appeal decisions immediately prior to the enactment of the legislation (R v. SSHD ex parte O'Dhuibhir [1997] CA transcript 383; R v. SSHD ex parte Simms, ex parte Main [1998] 2 All ER 491), however, suggest that the impact of the Act in prisoners' cases will be limited. Furthermore, these two cases are an indication of a retreat from a position in which courts acknowledged prisoners as having positive legal rights. These decisions have seen a return to a more traditional approach to prisoners' cases, one characterized by an emphasis on the correct limits that should be placed on executive discretion rather than any rights a prisoner has. 8 notes and 26 references