quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5

If the atmosphere or culture in prison is supposed to be a deterrent, then why are there so many repeat offenders?

Being told what to wear, eat, when to sleep, how often I may shower, and not having control of the light switch are things I can't imagine enduring for years at a time.

Can the viciousness of the system be changed to better allow for rehabilitation? I don't think the viciousness is something designed as much as tolerated.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Carouselambra

Jail. What a miserably existence it would be to inhabit such a place. My father once told me, "Hun, if you ever get sentenced to federal prison, kill yourself while you're on bail". The lifeless hell that would be living in a small cage with steel bars in between you and a bunch of other grown women in cages would be unbearable to me. Waking up everyday knowing it will be exactly the same as the day before. Nothing to look forward to besides that day when you'll possibly be released -- 5, 10, 20 years away. Our prison system has been called by many "crime school", a place after which you leave, you know everything about every kind of crime there is. The in's and out's of drug dealing, theft, robbery, fraud... name it and you will hear people's stories while in jail who committed it. Jails need to be places of healing, not of trauma. Jails in this country need to evolve out of their medieval status into places of conversion. Converting criminals into people with work-ethic and basic moral systems will never be accomplished by caging people. A bad dog is not trained to not bite people by sitting in a cage. A bad dog is embraced by it's masters and shown love to change it. Those criminals with no interest in changing or no ability in changing (psychopaths) -- Give them guns and release them into combat zones in special platoons. Those that survive will be sent out again ad infinitum until they are killed. Get some use out of them or alternatively just have them place their head on a wood block and hit them in the head with a sledgehammer, then bury the bodies in a large ditch.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub


I do believe the time will come where we will know the reasons for antisocial behavior be they psychological or physical and be able to rehabilitate all.

Butch

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub


I do believe the time will come where we will know the reasons for antisocial behavior be they psychological or physical and be able to rehabilitate all.

Butch

Then you support drugs or lobotomization, because thats the only way to "rehabilitate" someone.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5
What is the point of prison if not (along with punishment) improving the convict so such a crime wouldn't happen again?

I know someone who's been in prison.  He's scared that he could go there again, and lives his life so it won't happen.

quote:

ORIGINAL: peacefulplace

Wow. I had no idea so many people were so willing to deny the essential humanity of others.

There. I said it. Prisoners are human beings. I do not want my tax dollars paying for state sanctioned rape of prisoners by other prisoners or by prison guards (serious problem at women's facilities). And anyone who believes another human being deserves to be raped is sadly vengeful and hateful.

Our prison system is in bad need of reform. We have the highest prison population in the world, and yet, we still have crime! How is our self righteous outrage at keeping the riff raff in jail solving that? It ISN'T. And what of the solution to lock them all up for all time? Completely impractical, unless we'd like a prison in every town. Prepared to have all those big, bad criminals in your back yard?

BTW, many in the prison population are there on drug charges. Simple solution: legalize drugs in this country. We already consume the vast majority of them, anyway. Other solutions also exist, but it sounds like everyone here would just prefer to throw away the key.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DomYngBlk

quote:

ORIGINAL: peacefulplace

Wow. I had no idea so many people were so willing to deny the essential humanity of others.

There. I said it. Prisoners are human beings. I do not want my tax dollars paying for state sanctioned rape of prisoners by other prisoners or by prison guards (serious problem at women's facilities). And anyone who believes another human being deserves to be raped is sadly vengeful and hateful.

Our prison system is in bad need of reform. We have the highest prison population in the world, and yet, we still have crime! How is our self righteous outrage at keeping the riff raff in jail solving that? It ISN'T. And what of the solution to lock them all up for all time? Completely impractical, unless we'd like a prison in every town. Prepared to have all those big, bad criminals in your back yard?

BTW, many in the prison population are there on drug charges. Simple solution: legalize drugs in this country. We already consume the vast majority of them, anyway. Other solutions also exist, but it sounds like everyone here would just prefer to throw away the key.

A voice of sanity. Thank you. Who goes to jail? Poor minority people go to jail. I get caught with drugs in a routine stop and I got jail. Most of the rest of you and your families get probation for the same offense. Why does the person that is high and carrying a bit get put in jail and the DWI doesn't?

We pick and choose our criminals in the US. The head of Lehman Brothers lied and stole from others. Does he do time? If you have money you stay out of prison. Thats the facts of life no matter the offense. Once it is an even playing field then you can start talking why criminals are criminals.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DomYngBlk

Why does the person that is high and carrying a bit get put in jail and the DWI doesn't?

quote:

ORIGINAL: DomYngBlk

Oh yeah. Typical. DWI can blow apart many worlds. On the street with less than an ounce and that person deserves more jail time. lol