Many people keeping saying prison is not that bad, and some prisoners have better lives than people who live

Question

outside. so my question is what is your ideal prison life? like how should they live each day and stuff, what should they get and not get. i'm jsut curious to see who thinks of the worst thing. and then compare it to the real situation. this question is completly random and jsut popped into my head. thanks

Answer 1

Up until the mid 70's, the USA used what was called Civil Death. That meant you were kicked off the face of the planet when you were convicted of a felony and sent to prison. You had NO rights, you could not sue the system and you did what you were told to do or you were punished.

Somewhere around '73, the liberals starting taking over the justice system and we instituted Rehabiltation and Correction. Today, your typical inmate sits around all day watching a 60 inch tv in the rec area, sitting in the legal library researching a loophole for their case ( not that any have said they are innocent,,,,but are looking for a mistake to overturn their conviction) or just plain relaxing/trying to continue their criminal methods inside the wire.

Correctional staff are now accountable for everything that is said or done. The criminal now has all the rights, the rights of the victims have been forgotten and someone who lies, rapes, robs, steals and kills for a way of life is considered a paragon of virtue when he makes an allegation against the staff and we have to prove we did NOT do what was alledged against us.

There is no deterrent in today's system for a person to not want to return to prison. In some cases, the life they live inside the wire is better than what they had on the street with the free medical care, meals and clean clothing they now get. We get quite a few inmates who will immediately start a law suit against the state to remedy a physical ailment that is years old that they could not get done on the streets due to not having health insurance but expect it free of charge as soon as they are incarcerated.

The budget at the prison I am at is currently $1.5 million per month. Out of that total figure, a full 1/3 is for medical expenses.

The average person on the street has NO idea of what happens in today's system and as noted above by one poster, uses a tv show as reference to see what life is like behind the wire. Trust me when I tell you that "Lockup" is NOT representative of life in prison. What you see on TV is highly modified and outright false just for the impact on the viewing public.

The system has started swinging back somewhat in the last 10 years. It has removed a lot of "rights" of the inmates when it has seen how badly it is being misused by them. But just as it took 30 years for the system to become liberal, it is going to take that long or better to return to a system where prison is considered a deterrent again.

This is my personal and professional opinion, but it is based on my own experiences over the years.

I hope this helps and you can find it useful

Answer 2

People in prison should be made to perform hard labor in exchange for food.  12 hours a day, every day.

Although the ACLU will have a problem with it, billions of people think of it as working for a living.

This might be an actual deterrent to crime. Obviously criminals are not afraid of the death penalty.  They don't want to actually work, that's why they're criminals, maybe realizing they will be forced into hard work will cause them to rethink their life.

Answer 3

watch

'lockup" on t.v thats how prison really is, my opion it would really suck. they say the first thing you want to do is join a gang for protection  

Answer 4

The only people that say that have never been in prison.

Don't believe them.

Answer 5

I agree with johnny. If the prisoners knew that in prison they would have to work, they might think twice. I really believe that some men intentionally commit crimes and then turn themselves in just so they have a place to live, three squares a day, air conditioning and heat as needed, TV rooms, time alone with their wives and children, computers and the internet, (to watch p**n) and a playground outside. Not to mention free medical, including dental care.

What is needed is two piles of 20 pound rocks in the courtyard. Each day, for 8 hours, rain or shine, the prisoners line up and transfer the rocks from one pile to the other, then back again. No TV, computers, telephones, or checker boards. Any prisoner accused of raping another prisoner gets solitary.

Well, you get the picture. In short, prison should be a place you would NEVER want to go back to.