Prisoners Launch National Strike to Protest Poor Prison Conditions

Hey guys, you don't like prison? Don't come back.
 
I believe that prisoners should be treated humanely, but i have no problems with hard labor. Prison doesn’t seem like much of a deterrent as it is, so I don’t think that making it easier is the way to go.
 
"Inmates plan to refuse to work, and a smaller number plan to go on hunger strikes and conduct sit-ins."

Hunger strikes. What exactly do you accomplish by doing that?
Like South Vietnamese Buddhist monks setting themselves on fire to protest.
 
Ottawaguy said:
I believe that prisoners should be treated humanely, but i have no problems with hard labor. Prison doesn’t seem like much of a deterrent as it is, so I don’t think that making it easier is the way to go.
Click to expand...
It's because punishing people doesn't fix their underlying issues. We have a mental health epidemic in this country, and since all the asylums were closed they just put all of those people in prison now.
 
Mike said:
It's because punishing people doesn't fix their underlying issues. We have a mental health epidemic in this country, and since all the asylums were closed they just put all of those people in prison now.
Click to expand...
I agree that we are failing those with mental health issues, but a large percentage of the people getting locked up don’t fall in that category.
 
Moderators, @TeTe, I don't know if I posted this thread in the right place. Might need to be switched to 'The War Room' if it gets too political.
 
I like to imagine prison being like Life with Eddie Murphy.

200w.gif


giphy.gif
 
Ottawaguy said:
I agree that we are failing those with mental health issues, but a large percentage of the people getting locked up don’t fall in that category.
Click to expand...
Well it's not all of them for sure, but a considerable amounts. Some estimates are as high as forty to fifty percent of inmates have mental illnesses.


Then you account for people in poverty with no job skills, people in for drug charges etc, and MOST of the people in prison could probably he rehabilitated if we chose that route.

But we're stuck on this Victorian era punishment model, even though we have mountains of evidence that it doesn't work most of the time. If we had real mental healthcare, job training, better and cheaper education and drug rehab etc, we could probably eliminate the majority of crime.

We'd mainly be left with repeat violent offenders that can't be rehabilitated, that we could then execute or keep in prison for life.
 
Prison conditions should fit the crime. Currently, all inmates are treated like murderers and pedophiles- what does that say to the inmates who can actually be rehabilitated?

I've known one person who went to prison, and despite the horrid conditions, he made the most out of his 2 year sentence. Stayed out of trouble, kept his nose clean, and lowered every minute of his sentence possible. His two complaints: garbage for food and working for $0.19/hr, 12 hours/day left him no time to continue his degree. Came out with a job skill he never had before and within 2 months he found a job making above minimum wage. He is the exception to the rule.

Private prisons have almost completely nullified the chance at rehabilitation so good on the inmates for protesting.
 
Mike said:
But we're stuck on this Victorian era punishment model, even though we have mountains of evidence that it doesn't work most of the time. If we had real mental healthcare, job training, better and cheaper education and drug rehab etc, we could probably eliminate the majority of crime.
Click to expand...

What mountain of evidence? I believe the system works most of the time. We have mental healthcare, job training, education, and drug rehab. The issue is the individual not wanting help or wanting to change. Rich people and their children also finish up in jail, so, financial and social status is not an issue.
 
Phr3121 said:
What mountain of evidence? I believe the system works most of the time. We have mental healthcare, job training, education, and drug rehab. The issue is the individual not wanting help or wanting to change. Rich people and their children also finish up in jail, so, financial and social status is not an issue.
Click to expand...
The research showing that incarceration doesn't seem to prevent recidivism. Prison time isn't addressing the underlying motivation to commit the crime. Of anything the prison environment simply molds people into career criminals. Even with violent crime statistics generally dropping, we have the largest prison system of any first world nation.

And no, we do not have quality affordable mental health care, education, or job training. We also don't have a government generally concerned with the welfare of the people and the future of the country

Instead of creating more opportunities for education and training for fields where were projecting a shortfall of workers in the future, looking at why people commit crime and trying to offer true rehabilitation to remove the motivation to commit crime, generally being proactive in doing things for the betterment of society, everything is on a for profit model.


Medical care, job training, daycare, education, mental health care, none of these things are designed to be accessible for people struggling. Stop being so poor and make more money so you can pay for goods and services that have seen massive inflation in a very short period of time. That's the attitude people seem to have. I really question how old you are, or how wealthy you grew up, if you think any of those things are accessible to the poor. They haven't been for decades now.
 
Fuck'em...it's prison. The same thing when people say execution should be painless. God forbid a monster that did something horrible enough that a jury decided the punishment should be death, isn't going out peacefully.
 
Hey I am a rapist, murderer, drug dealer, drug user, thief and or general terrible person but you better treat me like a king.
 
It's fucking prison. It's not supposed to be nice.
And honestly the worst parts of prison - the threats and acts of violence and the associated fear and paranoia that accompany them, are perpetuated by the prisoners.
The state provides free room, board, utilities, healthcare and clothing in a climate controlled environment.

Go back one hundred years and find some poor farmer in the midwest barely able to survive through winter, or a teenager in London forced to work 16 hours in a steel mill or slaughter house to help his family survive through winter..... Ask them what they thought of a place where everything needed to survive was provided for you.

And the whole one dollar an hour stuff? Full time that would net over $2000 a year.
The average annual per capita income in China is $1786..... in India it's $616. And much less in many countries in Africa and South America. And in those countries room, board and healthcare is not free....

The loss of freedom in prison is terrible, and that's the true punishment. But if you want a job that pays more than $1 an hour, stay the fuck out of prison, it's not that hard. There are literally billions of other humans that would risk their lives just to live in America and make minimum wage (or much more if you can work hard and live responsibly i.e. stay out of prison).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,889
Messages
55,452,527
Members
174,783
Latest member
notnormal

Share this page

Back
Top