Opinion
Prisoners need H1N1 vaccinations, too
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Also by Steve Horn:
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- Wisconsin Jobs worthwhile, but don't count on Congress (September 10, 2009)
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Excuse the awful pun, but it looks like the hysteria encompassing swine flu has added a new rather piggish plot line.
According to a recent report by NBC 26 (WGBA) in Green Bay, prisoners at Taycheedah Correctional Institution near Fond du Lac have started receiving the H1N1 vaccine before it’s being made available to the general public. Seemingly an outrageous measure when taken at face value, as with most politicized issues, there is more to this than meets the eye. It is not simply a case of the Department of Health Services protecting prisoners over protecting average citizens. Far from it, in fact. But more on that later.
In an Oct. 29 press release, Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, stated, “I am deeply concerned … over reports that prisoners are getting the H1N1 vaccination over law abiding citizens of Wisconsin. I strongly encourage the Doyle administration to take a close look at this situation and take steps to ensure that the law abiding citizens of our state that want the vaccine are our first priority.”
Davis, while effectively touting the “tough on crime” card, completely misses the mark and instead misleads Wisconsin citizens on the rationale behind the decision made by the DHS. Prisoners at Taycheedah have first dibs on the vaccine because they need it more than the average citizen. When the quantity of something valuable is in short supply, the people who need it the most should be the ones receiving it first.
The Centers for Disease Control, on their webpage portion titled “Interim Guidance for Correctional and Detention Facilities for H1N1,” discusses the dire susceptibility of prisoners to H1N1 as compared to the average citizen: “Correctional institutions pose special risks and considerations due to the nature of their unique environment. Inmates are in mandatory custody and options are limited for isolation and removal of ill persons from the environment.”
These special circumstances cited by the CDC call for taking special measures regarding H1N1 and inmates receiving the vaccine before your Average Joe does. The Eighth Amendment reads, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Holding prisoners in a confined space when they have no way of isolating themselves from a lethal strand of influenza, or removing themselves from the people surrounding them who may have it, is, without a doubt, a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Nightmarish images of torture doled out to the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib detention centers quickly creep to mind. The legitimacy of our democracy hinges on treating our prisoners as humanely as possible.
Juxtapose the two groups: We can give prisoners the H1N1 vaccine, rather than holding them in a confined space in which they have no way of isolating themselves from the lethal strand of influenza, making them vastly more susceptible to obtaining and potentially dying of swine flu. Or we can dole the vaccine out to the general citizenry of Wisconsin, which has a .001 chance of receiving the disease to begin with, and unconstitutionally and wantonly neglect our prison population, leaving inmates in solitary confinement to rot away and die.
American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Executive Director Christopher Ahmuty, in a press release reflecting the dilemma at hand, opines correctly by stating, “To suggest that [prisoners] should not receive vaccine because they are less important than the ‘law abiding citizens of our state,’ will only further the spread of H1N1. … Prisoners are serving their debt to society, but being subjected to disease and death is not part of a just sentence in any civilized society.”
Complicated issues of this nature deserve critical thinking. Sadly, it looks like Davis failed to do his homework on the issue and by doing so, is making his best effort to delegitimize the sanctity of democracy in Wisconsin. Let’s hope his concerns are taken no more seriously than an oinking pig.
Steve Horn (sahorn@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and legal studies.
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I’m glad somebody called out Davis for this particular piece of douchebaggery.
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They don’t deserve shit. Put them up in a tents outside for all I care. Feed them like they eat at a soup kitchen. No TV, no internet. People just seem to forget that they are criminals.
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Haha, number two. What kind of country do you want this to be? Why don’t you just move to Iran or something if you like prisoners to be to be treated like dogs? Do you have no respect whatsoever for our Constitution?
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That is disgusting. They deserve to be treated like human beings and every human being has rights! And a lot of them are in prisons for “crimes” a lot of us more privileged commit daily. Way to go, Steve! This is a great commentary! I’m glad that the majority of people don’t think like this kid. Hope they never get busted for some obscure crime and end up in the same position as many prisoners they deem unworthy for basic rights, or maybe I do.
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“And a lot of them are in prisons for ‘crimes’ a lot of us more privileged commit daily.”
I have never committed robbery, arson, murder, assault, breaking and entering, grand theft auto, rape, battery, purchased drugs, sold drugs, abused a family member or kidnapped anyone. Which of these things do you commit daily? Most “privileged” people don’t do these things, that is why they are not in prison.
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That is why a lot of us was stated and not you. And maybe you choose not to use or sell drugs but I know a lot of people who do and you probably know a lot as well, and who are not in jail for reasons of privilege. A large amount of prisoners at this moment are in prison for those exact crimes, many as a result of discriminating practices. Either way, they are still humans and if you have such an issue with the crimes you listed off that some have committed then I would seriously rethink your argument. Finding it okay for us to torture/starve inmates is sadistic and hypocritical.
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Not even close. REREAD WHAT I WROTE. Where did I write that I support torturing prisoners?
I never said anything about torture, or even receiving the shot for that matter. I merely stated the fact that these people deserve to be in prison, and that “privileged” don’t commit these crimes on a daily basis as the commenter (which was you) before me seems to think.
“Either way, they are still humans and if you have such an issue with the crimes you listed off that some have committed then I would seriously rethink your argument.”
You are the one who should rethink your argument, because ALL people should have a problem with the crimes I listed, especially:
-Rape -Murder -Battery -Assault
Unless you are ok with those? Maybe I’m just old fashioned when I say I like my murderers and rapists behind bars.
Try rereading, reformulating your argument, and go buy some drugs from all your drug dealing friends while you do it to maximize your effectiveness.
-11:31
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I get where the person before you is coming from. You support maltreatment of people in that prisoners are people. I don’t think the person is arguing that we don’t keep rapists and violent offenders in jail. They were talking about drug crimes and prisoners in jail for drug crimes. Also, they didn’t’ say anything anywhere about letting them out, just about respecting their basic human rights.
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Especially since the majority of people in prison are not “murderers.”
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this is one of the stupidest articles I’ve ever read. No, when you break a law and are imprisoned for it you are being punished.
If the government was giving away a bunch of free super bowl tickets, should we give them to the inmates before everyone else. Hell No!
Part of being punished means you are now at the back of the line when it comes to getting a shot for a virus that only has a slim to zero chance of killing you. Save the vaccines for people who are not in jail and actually deserve them.
Horn, I’ve seen you use good reasoning in the past, so I’m going to assume this moronic article was written just for the sake of argument.
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Mr. Horn - I find all of your work to be horrendous and this article is no different. Not only is your writing appalling in general but your argument lacks any substance.
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I completely agree with anonymous, your writing has no substance! How were you even hired for this paper? And as far as I’m concerned let the prisoners rot away with the swine, its cheaper that way, we can definitely save money
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Horn- you’re article is well-received by current American ex-pats studying in Canada. That’ll probably shoot holes in your credibility with the “America first, Nobel Prize is for pussies” crowd, but there’s no convincing them anyway.
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First, this ding-dong article says that there is a “Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon”. NO such political person exists in Oregon. If a paper can’t even get its facts right about a key component of a story, how can we trust anything else?
Secondly, as a lawyer, hearing you try to justify this as a “cruel and unusual punishment” issue is laughable. At least take a Con law class before you act like an expert. They should have thought about it before they committed a felony!
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Really, you’re a lawyer? For what firm, Assclown & Douche? I always enjoy watching people attempting to boost their self esteem on an online forum.
Maybe you should take a ‘Con law’ class (aren’t all lawyers con artists when it comes down to it? WINK), because last I checked, which was one minute ago, committing a felony does not remove you of your rights as an American citizen.