What should prison be like?

[BigTex]

Tricky subject, on one hand we need to punish those who commit crimes, but on the other we need to rehabilitate them so they don't commit more crimes. I think we should spend more helping them, and more on security inside the prisons. Under no circumstances should we have children in adult prisons. We also should not no matter the crime have children tryed as adults and given adult sentences, their children and they don't completely understand what they've done. Some high crimes like murder though, we should not bother with rehabilitation, instead we should lock them up and throw away the key, or better yet send them to the chamber. As for those who commit rapes, molestation and other such sex related crimes, I purpose that we lock them in a cell with Bubba,



Meet Bubba. Bubba wants you.

[Soulforged]

There's already rules that set how prisons should be, I think in most countries, and for what I know they've the right idea. The only punishment that offenders should receive is taking away one of their "goods", those that the average man will certainly care to conserve, the first three in my list would be: freedom, life and money. But life is away because I don't like executions. So the only purpose of jail time is to be deprived from freedom, in the best conditions that can be provided for a minimum part of the budget, as there's a lot of more important things to do. There's certain things to respect at all costs: dangerous offenders could be in the same prison, but not in the same room with other lesser offenders. The guards should show that they serve at least a legal purpose and respect the laws. No prisoner should be tortured, by the guards or other prisoners. The place should be in healthy conditions, cleaned every day, walls in their place, etc.
Many of those who are serving could be innocents, so everyone should be protected from any unnecesary danger (not that the guilty should suffer, of course).

[Divinus Arma]

I don't even see a debate here.


Does anybody think that prisoners should be allowed to socialize at all when safety cannot be guaranteed?


Regardless of age, there can be no violence if there is NO contact, not in showers, rec areas, no cafeterias, etc. Each inmate must have their food brought to them. Each inmate must wash themselves via bucket, soap, and washcloth (A drain would be in every cell). No TV. No talking to each other, since cells would be mostly sound proof. No personal recreation. If a focus on rehabilitation is appropriate, then individual skills training could occur within the cell.

[Soulforged]

Regardless of age, there can be no violence if there is NO contact, not in showers, rec areas, no cafeterias, etc. Each inmate must have their food brought to them. Each inmate must wash themselves via bucket, soap, and washcloth (A drain would be in every cell). No TV. No talking to each other, since cells would be mostly sound proof. No personal recreation. If a focus on rehabilitation is appropriate, then individual skills training could occur within the cell.

So in sintesis you want them to become mad.... I don't agree with you, I think they should have at least human contact. Why taking that away, are you the mother Teresa? From friends, family, wife, girlfriend...And not human too, why not a pet? I don't like the concept of rehabilitation, but if you like it, then in this way your obstricting it, not enforcing it. Human contact is basic in rehabilitation. The boldest programs in such road talk about massive reunions of the inmates with psicologists and other experts to help them in their rehabilitation process. That's common activities, learning jobs, to socialize. The point of rehabilitation is that when they come out of prison they can mix themselves with the rest of society again, not be isolated as they were, even when most probably, if you're a well known criminal, most likely a murderer, you will not be accepted by the moral majority.

[Kagemusha]

I think Prisons should be work oriented.Hard labour from morning to evening.Inmates should get deacent food and deacent sleep.But other then that.Work,Work and more work.

[naut]

The problem with prisons is what it does to people who are only scentenced for a period of months to a few years. They end up coming back into society sodomized, brutal and in most cases severely mentally damaged.

Originally Posted by Kagemusha
I think Prisons should be work oriented.Hard labour from morning to evening.Inmates should get deacent food and deacent sleep.But other then that.Work,Work and more work.

Its not a bad idea, keep them locked in seperate cells, then take the out to eat and work. It would certainly stop sodomization, and the disciplined environment is a form of rehabilitation.

[scooter_the_shooter]

Hmm; depending on the crime I think a few deserve to be put with bubba But most should be kept safe from bubba and corrupt guards but....rapist murderers etc


I think that prison should such a terrible place that you never want to go back. But some kid who took daddy's car for a joy ride should not need to be raped.

[Avicenna]

I think Prisons should be work oriented.Hard labour from morning to evening.Inmates should get deacent food and deacent sleep.But other then that.Work,Work and more work.

The problem is, that would be compared to a gulag.

Also, the thing about prison is, if you're just a petty thief in prison, all you'll do is get influenced by others who commit crimes. A priest I know told me that he talked to someone who stayed in prison for a month for burglary. When asked if he was a changed man, he replied that he wasn't. All prison did for him was teach him how to be a better burglar (tips from other inmates).

[Idaho]

Does anybody think that prisoners should be allowed to socialize at all when safety cannot be guaranteed?


Regardless of age, there can be no violence if there is NO contact, not in showers, rec areas, no cafeterias, etc. Each inmate must have their food brought to them. Each inmate must wash themselves via bucket, soap, and washcloth (A drain would be in every cell). No TV. No talking to each other, since cells would be mostly sound proof. No personal recreation. If a focus on rehabilitation is appropriate, then individual skills training could occur within the cell.

Although not entirely without merit, I think there are three problems with the solitary confinement approach.

Firstly it would be impractically expensive. The amount of staff and cell space required to keep everyone in their cells would be huge.

Secondly I am not sure if it would do much good psychologically - although I am prepared to have my mind changed on this.

Thirdly, and most importantly though; I think that this process would make the prisoners dependent and institutionalised. I think prison should, for 90% of cases - be looking forward to release and what kind of person is being released.

[Strike For The South]

Along the lines of the rape issue. The guards have to be held a hell of alot more acountable as it seems (at least in the report) that they are the "enablers". Reforming the men who work and run these prisons would go a long way.

[doc_bean]

Along the lines of the rape issue. The guards have to be held a hell of alot more acountable as it seems (at least in the report) that they are the "enablers". Reforming the men who work and run these prisons would go a long way.

the problem usually is that they're underpaid and hance, often not qualified for the job they are supposed to do. If you want better guards, you' ve got to pay. Politicians don't believe they can sell that to the people who believe they will never meet Bubba...

[Strike For The South]

the problem usually is that they're underpaid and hance, often not qualified for the job they are supposed to do. If you want better guards, you' ve got to pay. Politicians don't believe they can sell that to the people who believe they will never meet Bubba...

very true

[Xiahou]

Although not entirely without merit, I think there are three problems with the solitary confinement approach.

Firstly it would be impractically expensive. The amount of staff and cell space required to keep everyone in their cells would be huge.

Secondly I am not sure if it would do much good psychologically - although I am prepared to have my mind changed on this.

Thirdly, and most importantly though; I think that this process would make the prisoners dependent and institutionalised. I think prison should, for 90% of cases - be looking forward to release and what kind of person is being released.

Permanent solitary confinement has been tried and was pretty much a total failure- read up on Eastern State Penitentiary. I think prison needs to be hard- very hard. This obviously serves as a deterrent, but as an added benefit, it helps keep costs down. They don't need air conditioning, cable TV, tasty meals, ect. A good example might be Maricopa county, Arizona where inmates are housed and fed in a 'tent city' in the desert for only a couple dollars a day. In addition, it's also important that prisoners do have an opportunity to learn something- if they're willing to do so. I think prisons should provide opportunities for inmates to earn their GEDs or even a HS diploma along with some basic vo-tech type job skills.

[yesdachi]

The entire judicial system in the US is in desperate need of a revamp (cost is ridiculous and the quality of life and rehabilitation is a joke), and I can t imagine it is much better in most other countries. But as to what prison should be like, for serious crimes IMO inmates should be consistently separated but provided with their basic needs. I would even allow some forms of entertainment, approved books, educational TV, some writing and art supplies but that is about it. Very little rehabilitation with a lot of punishment. But much shorter sentences and with parole alternatives that are far more constricting, that’s where the rehabilitation comes in, the prison time should be the punishment and parole should be the rehabilitation (obviously there needs to be some programs and more parole officers and other support personnel).

For less serious crimes or in a jail (rather than prison) situation I would like to see work being done, roadside trash removal, ditch digging, and there is always a farmer’s field that needs stones removed. Shorter sentences, harsher environments and repeat offenders (like 3 strikes rule) get sent to actual prison. Repeat offenders (like 3 strikes rule) to prison should get a death sentence.

I think it would also be extremely beneficial to see a “get a new live” program where inmates get a chance to relocate after their prison time is finished. This could help eliminate some of the issues with someone getting out and going back to their same old ways in the same old places with the same old friends.

The fact that there are so many crimes committed in prison is a shame. Murder and Rape, in or out of prison should be a crime punishable by death.

[rory_20_uk]

One method of crime prevention was you had to look your community in the face when you got out of jail.

The usual response is that the criminals get a state funded new life, whereas the victims get put right back to where they were.

A couple have their house burnt to the ground. OK, their fault they don't have insurance. So they have to scrape by whilst the arsonist gets removed so somewhere else in case it's too nasty having to see the people who'se lives were wrecked. Given a job? Better in case he get's itchy fingers again. Oh, and a house, etc etc.

I believe more should be spent on the victim's support.

The fact that so many crimes occur in prison is that there are a (we hope) a significant concentration of violent people. Yes you can kill with a toothbrush, and in prisons I imagine some do. Have each inmate with two guards in case they try something?

Part of prison should be that they can see what a world with criminals in would be like. Rather like one person's description of heaven and hell:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Basically both were people sitting at a meal table with very long cutlery. In haeven people worked together and fed each other (i.e. a community) in hell people were so selfish they just sat there and starved rather than help their fellows.

Unduely protecting prisoners is to take responsibility out of prisoner's lives. Sure, the guilty can be punished, and if they can not be trusted to not kill their fellow prisoners I don't think they are ready for release - no one will be there next time they can't control their temper.

For the ones that repeatedly fail to reform into something that society can accept there should be colony islands to place them on if the death penalty is so repugnant (I never understand why killing 100 innocents by failing to act is worse than killing 1 by acting).