Should Prison Really Be Like It Is?

HowWouldIKnow

Let me ask you a question prior to my answer. If I took an angry man and caged him and treated him like a dog, what do you think he would be like when I let him out?
I think some changes could be made overall, but Even a criminal needs to be treated with some level of compassion if you want a better person to come out.

england til i die

i dont know where u wen but i wish i was there. I did 9 months in highdown and although its only cat C it was nothing like where u were. r u sure u werent in butlins?
ok we got rec time and yes we could spend a bit (but only on expensive baccy, papers, phone cards etc) wot do u buy inside?
The food was **** and yes it was rife with drugs but give me freedom and poverty anyday. Im not going back

why am I here?

I concurr with you. Prison shouldn't be a 1 star hotel. A certain prison in Texas has no floor or walls. It's in the middle of the desert. They do hard labor. The real problem with prison is that it does not offer opportunities for learning productive skills like auto repair. Most people I think are in prison because they lacked other legal opportunies. Others maybe were just lazy looking for a quick buck.

SunShineBabe

I agree with you. I think that people who commit a crime that is bad enough to be in prison they should be locked away and never want to go back.

His Old Lady

You're an Ex-Con? Who are you kidding?

And don't even compare UK prison to US prison.

US Prison is a total waste of human life, and the taxpayers' money. Yeah, there are some people who don't deserve to live, but there are way too many others who have no business in prison. Americans totally fall for the legislators who promise, if elected, to "get tough on crime." That's fine, until it's their daughter who gets busted because she let her boyfriend use her cell phone for a deal, or their son who was with his rocket scientist friends at a party that got crazy. Then they start screaming, but once the doors shut, it's too late.

That's when "regular, good" people find out what the US justice system is really like. When they get their kid home in a box because he was gang-raped and died because there's only one doctor for 2000 men, it's too freakin' late to realize that just maybe they lie on the 6 o'clock news.

It's all politics, it's all corrupt as H---, and it's costing the taxpayers about $40,000. a year per inmate. Is that worth it? Elderly inmates cost three times that (per Federal CURE stats) because of their medical care. In US prisons, there's no curtains, carpets, personal TVs, and all that other crap you listed. My 65 year old husband sleeps on a mat that most people wouldn't give to their dog. American tax payers have supported his incarceration for 26 years. He had no murder convictions, never kicked the dog, never touched a child. But he was different, and a biker back in the 70's when that was scary, so he got 41 years for less than 4 ounces of coke.

In US prisons, they have little chance at rehab because most worthwhile programs have been discontinued. They lose their jobs, their wives, their homes, their families, and then get out and guess what? No one will hire them because of their record, no one will rent to them, no one will finance a car for them, so what do they do? Hey, they go back and live on your tax money!!!

Figure it out---sending half the population to prison is not the way to handle this. How many more people do you want to support? Canada already has a program offering controlled release for elderly prisoners. The U.S. needs to come up with something similar.

timsdad

i remember those days when prison was a last plase you wanted to go
now it like a holiday camp.

cc41girl88

Which prison would you have been to, again? Prisoners wearing thier own clothing? Even the jails in Utah don't allow that. If I were you, I would check out some Los Angeles - routing prisons real quick. Enough said.

Personally, I believe that prisons need to be made safer, so that drugs are kept out and those in there, who are not sentenced to death, are not killed.

fr_chuck

not in the US I can tell.

dollars2burn4u

I don't know where you were in prison at .Please state the institution .The prisons I have seen certainly aren't like that .I have to think you are not truthful about being in one .

sugarbdp1

I'm sorry but here in the USA it isn't that way not unless your in Federal Prison otherwise you share a cell with someone or U sleep in a dorm my brother was in prison & he told me there are times inmates sleep on the floor cause it's over crowed

oG33MANo

it all depends on how you behave in prison if you are good and become a model prisoner then you get perks but if you fight the system and assault inmates and screws then your time can be very hard and lonely also these hard prison ways have used in the past more in the seventies look at Jimmy Boyle and Johnny Steele (one of the most punished men in the British penal system) they refused to give in and fought the system and the screws at all times as well as attacking guvnors all in all leading to riots look at strange-ways riot if you treat people like animals then they become animals maybe longer sentences would help at least in prison they cant hurt joe public.

Lisa W

Hi, yes i do feel that our prisons are a little relaxed, but im not excusing the matter so dont anyone go off, but come the end of the day the person in prison they are serving their punishment by being there in the first place. Many people regret going to prison once they have been becasue of the lack of freedom and being away from family. I think that depening on they type and catogory prison then privilages such as t.v's etc should be goven depending on the type they are in, i.e if some one was in prison for 3 months for theft and they are i an open prison class C then they should be aloud, but for some one in a closed prison and class A for peodifillia then this should be thought about very carefully, being in prison the prisoner should have to EARN their privalages.

This is just my view, everyone has their own. so dont anyone have a go at me pls.

What is everyone elses view, do you agree/disagree??

UppityBroad68

No, life is not "too soft" within the prison walls.
To anyone who says differently, I'd like to know What prison have you been visiting? I'd like to arrange for a cherished friend to be transferred there! The top notch medical/dental care I'm always hearing about would be nice!He had a small cavity in one tooth and the answer was to pull the tooth, he needs to see a doctor to renew a prescription for a chronic condition (no, it's not a drug with any recreational potential, it's Prilosec) but can't see the doc because he is not bleeding, and when he does get that script renewed, he'll be paying for it or rather either his mom or I will be doing so. The situation has gotten so bad with prison health care that a federal judge recently ordered the whole department into recievership.
He shares a 6 x 12 cell with one other man, and counts himself lucky that there are not 3 in that cell due to the amazingly overcrowded state of the facility, he gets to leave that cell about 4 hours a day, including shower, chow, dayroom and yard time... and THAT is when the facility is not on lockdown due to drastic understaffing, courtesy of a hiring freeze imposed by the Governor...on lockdown, it really is in the cell, 24/7, food passed through the door, etc the only thing that keeps going is the mail (and by the way, I send him paper,envelopes and postage, unless it is a letter to one's attorney of record AND there is no money on one's books, the prison does not pay for letters)....the educational programs, IF an inmate qualifies AND if there is a slot available in the class.....and surely you see the need to try to educate these people to improve the chances of their becoming productive citizens upon release?
The showers are hot and reasonably clean, but inmates buy their own soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
Not only must inmates wear State issued clothing, but those prison blues are most often laundered in the cell, because they only issue 2 sets and only do laundry call twice a month... unless the facility is on lockdown, then there is no laundry call.
With winter having set in in the Sierra foothills, the temperature on the yard is below freezing and no cold weather gear has been released to the inmates... I hope someone files suit when they get frostbite while waiting outdoors to get into the chow hall.
The food is a joke, and is barely legal in quantity and quality... most inmates get VERY creative with the top ramen that is available at the commisary..."Undercooked veggies" would be a wonderful step in the right direction!
What Gym/weight room are you talking about? My friend does an aerobic routine in his cell each morning and spends about half his time in the yard running his usual 3 to 5 miles, but there's no equipment available...I'm not complaining about that, but I'd like to know where you get your information.

As to other recreational activities,No video games, ... Television in the day room where what to watch is decided by vote, and it's not cable or satellite, though many facilities do have an "in house" channel for educational programs and occassional movies (PG or cleaner)...any TVs or radios in the cells were not provided by the state, either the inmate or someone like me purchased them and like quarterly packages and phone calls (collect and incredibly costly) they are a privilige that is EARNED... Surely you can see the value of rewarding good behavior?

I could go on and on, but I really want to know what prison all these stereotypes of fun and games are based on, because it sure as hell is not in California!

rense

Prisons are all different and luxuries depend on the type and the inmates it houses. For me you can give me anything, but I won't be happy as long as I'm contained, and have very few rights.I must be free. I know of others that get along quite well in prison. They can Do Time. I Can't !

Jackie B

I agree with you. I think that people who commit a crime that is bad enough to be in prison they should be locked away and never want to go back.

?????

sadly to say prison life is better than normal life

josh m

Your right but the Liberals won't allow it.

redhead

I agree prison should be more strict. But, I also believe that they should be segregated by race. If you don't have different races thier is no need for gangs. I also think that offenders such as drug users, sellers, etc, and motor offenders should not be put in the same prison as rapists, murderers, molesters.

aunty m

I AGREE WITH YOU TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, NOT ALL THE PRISONS ARE LIKE A HOLIDAY CAMP, I KNOW MOST OF THE OPEN ONES ARE ,I KNEW SOMEONE WHO WENT TO ONE AND HE LOVED IT THERE. I DO THINK THEY SHOULD BE A LOT HARDER ON THE INMATES,AS YOU SAY, IT MAY PUT THEM OFF RE-AF-ENDING.

button moon

prisons, should be
four walls, bed, toilet, bare essentials, 23 hours a day bang up, no menus, just basic ration food! a supply of ropes for perverts and rapists, hopefully they would then take the easyway out! prison is not a deterent anymore, its a bloody holiday or home for people who dont have one

jcm75

i think any convicted criminal should be hanged in public. like rapist ,thieves, murders

stargazer6440

Even on the other side of the coin...in government intelligence agencies theres corruption and retaliation...things won't change until people change bro...don't hold yer breath...

catawhumpus

Sadly prison is the best life some of it's inmates have ever had and they'll be glad to get back in. this means we need to change how things work in our country, at the expense of money going overseas (instead of the opposite way it is now). It also means that those too dangerous to be paroled or risk an escape need to be kept in an unescapable prison colony like in all the sci-fi movies. Or simply execute convicted killers if there is no question of guilt. And by this I mean being a co-conspirator who only holds the victim while the other executes him, isn't "innocent" in the sense many of those executed for murder now claimed to be innocent because they were accessories, not the principal attacker. It doesn't need to be public, in fact I think it's catering to vengeance when they allow friends or relatives of murder victims watch a killer be put to death, it's not about punishment or vengeance, it's about protecting the rest of society from these killers. Let them exercise regardless of weather, let them read or do somekind of menial tasks and if they are getting out, teach them something useful in the way of a job so they don't have to go back to a life of crime to survive.

jaebird

I agree with you, the way you describe it. it sounds like a haven rather than hell. A prison should be what it says on the tin, cold bare cell with iron gates. Bad eggs get released only to eat and shower. No priviledges at all as that defeats the purpose of punishment all together. That is what is wrong with the justice system, people no longer fear being sent to prison therefore are undetered to commit the crime as prison life now seems so easy. That is why crime figures keep rising and they will continue to do so until the government gets a grip and does something about it.

crazyme

i think if you have broke the law then you need to be put in a cell and stay there the only time you should be let out is to take a shower then put back in.. maybe i would allow a radio only because if you have no contact at all with anything else then you would go crazy and then it may be harder to deal with you... and food should be just what the nutrients you have to have... my sister wrot a paper in college and she had to interview someone in jail and the person told her he was about to be released in a few days she told him congrads and he said ok i will be back in here in a few days she asked him y he said because in here i have 3 meals a day a bed and cable out there i have nothing... its way to easy in our prisons today

The Beast

i guess it depends on your view of the purpose of prison. is it primarily intended to rehabilitate the offender? or is it primarily intended to keep society safe from dangerous criminals and act as a deterrent for anyone considering a life of crime?

my view is that there should be nothing positive in prison that would allow a person to conclude that life in prison is better than current life on the streets. if prison is an improvement, something is wrong, and the wrong activity will result.

i have no problem with a convict wanting to improve his life, but it should not be at the comfort or expense of the taxpayer, it should be a personal decision undertaken by the individual, where that person wants to get out to a better life. that being said, multiple offenders should forfeit the right to anything remotely comfortable. accountability doesn't cease to exist just because someone is in prison.

t3h1

i think prison should be a room 12 by 12 foot with 4 men to it and a toilet in the corner.

entertainment will consist of a deck of cards and a chess set if you have good behaviour.

food will be passed through a hatch to you and you may have a religious book with you if you require.

foos should meet requirements to stay healthy but no luxuries... bread water beans and cheap meat, hard undercooked veg would be a good idea.

hard labour would be great... see how many people steal then.

yes it is too soft... ive never been but a lot of my friends have and think nothing of it...going back is no big deal to most of them as they just get to meet their old friends.

no wonder theres so much crime lately..... bet there werent many thiefs when you used to get your fingers chopped off for stealing.

n4il_p0lish2000

yeah i agree prision is so bad anymore in fact i know a few homeless people who do crimes just to go there in the winter and have 3 meals a day and a roof on their head. and i think it really messes the guards up 2 cause i know one and he's just messed up in the head. i say do away with prisons and just send them all away to alaska or something.

justme

I have to agree with you...get prisions back to basics..then give saved money to raise kids who have dead beat dads so the kids can have a better life and possibly stay out of prisions. Sounds like a win/win situation to me!!!!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: