V USA nemají klasické zákony, jak to známe od nás. My využíváme tzv. právo kontinentálního typu, kdežto v USA tzv. právo ango-amerického typu. "Common law" je založeno na precedentech. Jednoduše řečeno, soudy rozhodují dle rozhodnutí jiných soudů v minulosti. Právní systém USA si na rozdíl od Anglie zachoval více archaizujících prvků, čímž se kdysi jednotný systém v těchto zemích začal postupně lišit.
Vězení
- Jail (místní, max 1 rok, „čekárna na odsouzení“)
- Prison (věznice)
- Penitentiary (federální věznice)
- Custody
- Juvenile facility - polepšovna
- Sentence - odsouzení
- Detention - vazba
- Felon - zločinec (těžký)
- Conviction - usvědčení
In the United States penal system, a jail is a facility used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the state, including accused persons awaiting trial and those who have been convicted of a crime and are serving a sentence of less than one year. Jails are generally small prisons run by individual counties and cities, though some jails in larger communities may be as large and hold as many inmates as regular prisons. As with prisons, some jails have different wings for certain types of offenders, and have work programs for inmates who demonstrate good behavior.
Approximately half of the U.S. jail population consists of pretrial detainees who have not been convicted or sentenced. Prisoners serving terms longer than one year are typically housed in prison facilities operated by state governments.[20] Unlike most state prisons, a jail usually houses both men and women in separate portions of the same facility. Some jails lease space to house inmates from the federal government, state prisons or other counties as a revenue-raising method.
In 2005, a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 62 percent of people in jails have not been convicted, and are awaiting trial. As of 2005, local jails held or supervised 819,434 individuals. Nine percent of these individuals were in programs such as community service, work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring, and other alternative programs.
Úrovně ostrahy
In the United States, "jail" and "prison" refer to separate levels of incarceration; generally speaking, jails are county or city administrated institutions which house both inmates awaiting trial on the local level and convicted misdemeanants serving a term of one year or less, while prisons are state or federal facilities housing convicted felons serving a term of more than one year. On the federal level, this terminology has been largely superseded by a more complex five-tier system implemented by the Federal Bureau of Prisons that ranges from low security "Prison Camps" to medium security "Correctional Institutions" and finally maximum security "Penitentiaries". Federal prisons can also house pre-trial inmates.[6]
ADX Florence is presently the only facility housing supermax units operating in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, a minimum security U.S. federal prison for women
The exact classification systems differ between county, state, and federal systems. Some common types of prisons include:
- Supermax: As the name implies, the custody level goes beyond Maximum by segregating "the worst of the worst" in a prison system, such as terrorists deemed a threat to national security and inmates from other prisons who have a history of violent behavior. This level is also used for non-terrorists who have been deemed too dangerous or too high-profile to ever be in a normal prison. These inmates have individual cells and are kept in lockdown for 23 hours per day. Meals are served through "chuck holes" in the cell door, and each inmate is permitted out of their cell for one hour of exercise per day, alone. They are permitted no contact with other inmates and are under constant surveillance via closed-circuit television cameras.
- Administrative: Administrative security is a classification of prisons or detention centers that are for a specific purpose, such as housing mentally ill offenders. These range in levels of security from Minimum to Administrative Maximum Security (ADMAX), as in the case of ADX Florence in Colorado.
- Maximum: A custody level in which both design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates primarily through the use of high security perimeters and extensive use of internal physical barriers and check points. Inmates accorded this status present serious escape risks or pose serious threats to themselves, to other inmates, to staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision of inmates is direct and constant.
- High: The "Middle Ground" for violent crimes, High security institutions have highly-secured perimeters (featuring walls or reinforced fences), multiple- and single-occupant cell housing, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control of inmate movement.
- Medium: A custody level in which design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide secure external and internal control and supervision of inmates. Inmates accorded to this status may present a moderate escape risk or may pose a threat to other inmates, staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision remains constant and direct. Through an inmate's willingness to comply with institutional rules and regulations, increased job and program opportunities exist.
- Close Security: Close Security prisons are institutions which house inmates too dangerous for Low Security, but who did not commit a crime worthy of incarceration in a Medium Security Facility. These prisons are rare, as most inmates fall into either "Medium" or "Low" Security Classifications. These facilities are often located in separate areas of a Low or Medium security Prison.
- Low: A custody level in which both the design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of returning to the inmate a greater sense of personal responsibility and autonomy while still providing for supervision and monitoring of behavior and activity. Inmates within this security level are not considered a serious risk to the safety of staff, inmates or to the public. Program participation is mandated and geared toward their potential reintegration into the community. Additional access to the community is limited and under constant direct staff supervision
- Minimum: The lowest level of security to which an inmate can be assigned directly. This type of prison is typically a "prison farm", or other work-oriented facility, and most often houses petty or "white collar" criminals.
- Pre-release. A custody level in which both design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of restoring to the inmate maximum responsibility and control of their own behavior and actions prior to their release. Direct supervision of these inmates is not required, but intermittent observation may be appropriate under certain conditions. Inmates within this level may be permitted to access the community unescorted to participate in programming, including but not limited to work release or educational release.
Miranda warning
Z Amerických akčních filmů to známe asi všichni. Policista vytáhne podezřelého z auta za odříkávání tzv. Mirandy (Miranda warning), v souladu s pátým dodatkem Ústavy:
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?
My to známe jako:
Máte právo nevypovídat. Vše, co řeknete, může být a bude před soudem použito proti vám. Máte právo na advokáta. Pokud si ho nemůžete dovolit, bude vám přidělen. Rozumíte svým právům?
Bez seznámení podezřelého s jeho právy totiž nesmí policista pokládat žádné otázky, kromě jména, data narození a bydliště. Jinak by soud odmítl třeba i případné přiznání uznat jako důkaz.
Název je odvozen od procesu Miranda v. Arizona (1966), ve kterém byl Ernesto Miranda odsouzen právě pouze na základě svého přiznání. Miranda nevěděl, že nemusí proti sobě vypovídat či že se může poradit s právníkem. Ironií osudu je, že Miranda byl několik let po svém propuštění během rvačky ubodán, jeho vrah dle „Mirandy“ odmítl vypovídat a nakonec byl pro nedostatek důkazů propuštěn.
Různé státy mohou k Mirandě ještě něco přidat, např. státy sousedící s Mexikem přidávají informaci, že nejsou-li občany USA, mohou před výslechem kontaktovat velvyslanectví své země.
Odkazy
Trest smrti
„Capital punishment“ nebo „Death penalty“ je legální ve většině států USA. Největším vykonavatelem tohto nejvyššího trestu je Texas.
Většinou se popravuje smrtící injekcí (Lethal injection). Nejprve se odsouzenci vstříkne thiopental sodný, po kterém usne. Následuje látka pankuronium, ochromující svaly a zastavující dýchání, a nakonec chlorid draselný, který zastavuje srdce.
Harašení
Sexuální obtěžování (Sexual Harrassement = „harašení“) je v USA poměrně hodně stíháno a můžete z něj být nařčeni i při pochválení vzhledu (co taková pěkná ženská dělá v tak zapadlém městě?) či (byť nechtěném) použití dvojsmyslu. U nás je celkem normální, že třeba host v restauraci / hospodě je tak nevinně flirtuje se servírkou. V USA to může být trestné. Extrémem bylo obvinění pěti nebo šestiletého chlapečka z harašení na pískovišti.
