From some comments yesterday regarding the half-broken A/C at the Delaware prison, I have a question for today:
Should prisoners have the privilege of air conditioning, schooling/college, ministry fellowship, emotional care, gym, medical treatments, dental, etc. . . while most law abiding working-class families cannot afford most of these luxuries? Why or why not?
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21 comments:
should they have all that no..and I work in a prison so I can say that with full knowlege of all that they have. That said..if they had a/c to go with the cable that they have in their cells..it would make the prison safer by a noticeable margin. With a/c and cable most would rarely leave their cells. Less inmates out moving means less violence
Maybe I am misguided, but I thought prisons were for punishment of wrongdoings, not a method of reward.
No way! A Prisoner should not get all the luxuries !
If anything, they should be made to live a very grime life in prison. If they know they'll have it better in prison than at home, they can justify in their pea brains why its OK to kill, rob, etc etc.
The criminals in jail have more rights and freedom than we do. They do not deserve the luxuries that we do with out. Keep jail terms as a punishment not a kudos for doing bad. Do away with work release and let those on the "career" welfare roles earn our tax dollars while the prisoners stay in prison.
Ministry, a/c on heat advisory days, and the bare minimums of entertainment and fitness, perhaps. But college? No way! Its crazy to have them get an education for free when right now, those of us who are middle class can't even figure out how they will pay tuition for our children a decade and a half from now. A jail is not a hotel, and it certainly isn't a dorm. Prisoners shouldn't be given luxuries that I can't get.
NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do feel medical attention in emergency cases should be provided. However that is where it should end. The sheriff in New Mexico who forces them to live in tents and wear pink has the right plan. This is prison where you should be learning a lesson for the crimes you commit against innocent hard working people. It will never fly because the liberals have taken accountability away by making everyone a "victim".
When times get tighter I will rob a liberal and go to prison and have it better than I do now!!
I have no problem with giving them Health care as needed. Dental should only be under emergencies. They should not be given better Dental care than law abiding citizens and their famlies can afford, unless they pay for it at the same cost I would have to pay. A/C is not a necessity. If they get it they should earn it, very strict guidelines, by their behavior and only in a housing unit that is limited to the best behaved. I believe in making them get a GED. College is out of the question. I can't afford College for my Children or myself and neither can the average Family. A gym is out of the question, I cannot afford to pay for me and my Family to go to a gym every day. They have a courtyard to go and walk around for exercise. If they want more exercise put them on work details and make them work 8hrs a day instead of three hrs they work on these details. You forgot the cable / satellite they recieve that they don't deserve. They should have to earn this just like the A/C, very strict guidelines. You also left out Law libraries they have or have access too, which is just as good as any Law firm. That is totally obsurd. If you disagree with me explain why my tax dollars should furnish a Convict with luxuries I cannot afford my own Family.
If they are going to be locked up for extended times, and then released back into the general population, what would be the point of having them sit and rot for years on end, then shoving them back out into society with a pat on the back and a hearty, "good luck."?
It seems that, through that method, we would be making things much worse for the inmate, and increasing the odds of a repeat offence (I am sure there are studies to this regard, and the opposite.)
Yes, he or she broke the rules of law, and are paying for their crimes. Should they be provided club-med-type "luxuries" by taxpayer dollars during their incarceration? Maybe not. HOwever, if they are not ready for the workforce, and unable to secure a place to live upon release, won't taxpayer dollars be spend on them through government assistance programs?
I am not condoning the inmates actions, decisions, or crimes. However, if we treat them like animals duing their incarceration, they will act like animals when they get out. Why spend our money and resources pissing them off for years on end, then wondering why they are so uncooperative with their new freedom.
Yes, some criminals are lifetime offenders and nothing can be done to "right the ship," but this is not always the case.
For those of you ready to chain them to walls and give them water and bread for 10 to 20, is that what your religious beliefs would condone? Is that what your moral code dictates?
We can treat them like human beings without coddling them. The system is not perfect, but nothing from government is. We should work to be better people, even to the least among us.
Think about this before we submit the prison population to gulag conditions. Eventually they will be released back into society and I would like to see a different kind of person emerge from prison. One who is educated, maybe even one who feels he can add to society rather than prey on it.
i say no AC, no weight room, no tv, no million dollar housing, give them basic health care, like my comment of yesterday have inmates live in tent, grow the food they eat ect. Make prision a hell hole to be in there for people will think twice or three times before doing stupid crimes and more serious crimes. I heard a story a few years ago about a guy that did a petty crime and made sure it was a federal crime so he could get his AIDS taken care of in jail. B/c the state did not do any health care for aids.
9:15 & 9:25
I agree 100%.
Your comments were very well written and something everyone should really think about.
The old saying "Treat people the way you would want to be treated." No matter who u are!!!
No free anything. They are there to serve time and be punished - not rewarded with free education, TV, games A/C. As far as I am concerned they should been doing road work in the heat. That's Punishment!!!
Although Dan's comments do make sense on the surface, at what point does our current system establish a deterrent to crime. If life on the inside is better than what is available outside, it only stands to reason the person will commit another crime to return to the better life. I would provide nothing more than we do for our law abiding citizens. The same standard of medical / dental that is available for our poor. The same housing we make available for our poor. There should be some sort of work made available and required for other privledges just as he or she would have to do on the outside. The A/C should be used in moderation, just as many of us are having to do.
We might even look into establishing different levels of services provided for first time offenders and habitual offenders. If someone continues to commit crimes, they have proven they cannot be reabilitated as Dan had hoped and there is no need to waste time and money on that individual.
My 2 cents!
Richard, point taken and agreed with fully.
Now, when do we see this actually happen.....
Your points are well taken. But I believe that our Military and Childern should be treated on a higher standards than someone who committs crimes. IN Pa. they have different Institutions for different security levels. They are one of the few. With MD's liberal leadership don't look for that in this State. I pushed this idea for several years. MD likes to recycle failed policies as new policies.
Regardless of what we think or feel these people (inmates) deserve, the inmate population of the United States is the only demographic to have mandated healthcare which includes mental health and dental care.
My hero is Sheriff Joe from Arizona!! Live in tents, work everyday, wear pink shorts and tee's, no AC, no, TV except for the Disney channel
all prisons sould be working prisons, most inmates would probably dread a long hard days work, pay them some and then charge them for any extras they might want to spend their money on, "work em hard/work em long".
My hero is Sheriff Joe from Arizona!! Live in tents, work everyday, wear pink shorts and tee's, no AC, no, TV except for the Disney channel for entertaiment, PBS for the news and the weather channel so they will know how hot it will be out on the road crew. This goes for wom en to because we would not want to discriminate.
Delaware should consider what Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s does with his inmates.
Tent City: "Vacancy Sign Is Always On"
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