In the past, failure to deal properly with the ethical aspects of research programs led to research that caused harm to inmates, notably through experiments involving chemical, medical, or technological products. For example, it is estimated that at the beginning of the last century, 85% of clinical drug trials were conducted on inmates (Hoffman, 2000). As scholars noted that to some organizations, prisoners make splendid laboratory animals. Healthy, relatively free of alcohol and drugs, with regulated diets, they are captives, unlikely to wander off and be lost to both treatment and control groups, and they are under sufficient pressure of adversity to “volunteer.” (Mills & Morris, 1974, p. 60)
For more information, you may search for the below:
Hoffman, S. ( 2000 ). Beneficial and unusual punishment: An argument in support of prisoner participation in clinical trials. Indiana Law Review, 33, 475 – 515 .
Mills, M., & Morris, N. ( 1974 ). Prisoners as laboratory animals. Society, 11 ( 5 ), 60 – 66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02695210
