Optional Is Necessary: Why the US should adopt the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture

The rights and liberties of prisoners in the United States are defined and circumscribed by the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel or unusual punishment. This standard requires that health care be provided to prisoners, but only to the degree that it is not deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs. In contrast, international treaties, such as the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the UN Convention Against Torture expansively and substantially define a series of human rights for prisoners, and specifically require that health care available to prisoners equal that of non-detained persons. In critical recognition of the risks of imprisonment to the civil and human rights of prisoners, international treaties call for international supervision, in addition to internal prevention mechanisms. The United States is a signatory to the Convention Against Torture. The U.S. should now sign the Optional Protocol to this convention, and expand the Bill of Rights to include international human rights to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of prisoners.