places of detention are supposed to be protected by law against abuses; under U. law, the Bill of Rights' Eighth Amendment prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment" and in the First Amendment it states that ".Congress shall make no law.abridging." the rights of citizens "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Prisoners who have citizenship in the U.S. are citizens; albeit they have been convicted of crimes, they are nonetheless citizens.

             And under the U.S. Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the unfair and inhumane treatment of prisoners is banned. Also, whether in the U.S. or in territories where the U.S. is engaged in military action, there are international treaties governing the conduct of prison authorities - which the U.S. Congress has ratified - such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Also, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and other UN treaties, have been ratified by the U.S. Congress, and are supposed to be adhered to. .

             In fact, the United Nations Human Rights Committee's statement (signed onto by the U.S.), explicitly states that ".Not only may persons deprived of their liberty [e.g., prisoners] not be subjected to [torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment].but neither may they be subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that resulting from the deprivation of liberty. [and] persons deprived of their liberty enjoy all rights set forth in ICCPR, subject to the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed environment [prison].".

             Moreover, according to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, signed by the United States (and most countries of the world), persons taken during military conflict as prisoners, ".shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.