Prisoners' Rights

Susan Easton is Reader at Brunel Law School.

• 1. Prisoners' Rights: From Social Death to Citizenship 2. The Historical Development of Prisoners' Rights: Rights Versus Discretion 3. The Increasing Importance of International Human Rights Law and Standards 4. Prison Conditions 5. Procedural Justice 6. Contact with the Outside World 7. The Right to Equality 8. The Prisoner as Citizen: The Right to Vote 9. Conclusion: Making Room for Prisoners' Rights

'Prisoners’ Rights is a thoroughly researched and thought provoking book. By placing prisoners’ rights within the wider historic and socio-legal contexts and examining practices in different jurisdictions (largely England and Wales, the United States and Holland), Susan Easton offers a comprehensive assessment which extends far beyond a traditional analysis of legal instruments and case-law. The book successfully demonstrates why a rights based approach to imprisonment benefits not only the prisoners themselves, but also contributes to the legitimacy, stability and security of prison systems, as well as wider society, through promoting prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration. This is an important and timely book, which should be of interest to a wide readership beyond academia and the legal profession.' – Dr Sharon Shalev, Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE & International Centre for Prison Studies. Author of 'Supermax, Controlling Risk through Solitary Confinement' (2009).'This discussion of prisoner rights is a welcome addition to the current literature and is particularly timely. By placing rights in their historical, philosophical and social context the book encourages a long-view that is essentially rational and progressive.'-Jamie Bennett, Governor of HMP Grendon and Springhill, in Prison Service Journal no 201.