TalkLeft links to the Sentencing Report’s new study titled Big Prisons, Small Towns: Prison Economics in Rural America.
I have not read it yet, but apparently Jeralynn has, and states that “rural prisons produce no positive economic benefits for local communities.” Once I read it, I will comment more, but you should go check it out.
Regardless of your political affiliation, it should be clear that we have a problem in this area. No one comes out of prison a better person (Shawshank Redemption be damned), and unless we intend to just start locking everyone up for life, we have a serious problem. We need education programs, drug rehabiliation, and programs that SUCCESSFULLY transition inmates who have served their time and paid for their crime to become full, productive citizens once again. There are others who can speak more eloquently about this than I can, but I think the notion (and reality) of prisons serving only a punitive function is helping no one.
Barney Gumble
“No one comes out of prison a better person”
50% of convicts go to prison once, and never go back.
RHJunior
One thing: the purpose of the prison system is to punish people for their wrongdoing, not to give them a leg up on life they didn’t earn.
When prisons stopped being a place too dreadful to imagine going to, they ceased to serve their primary function. Why should a criminal fear going to jail, when he’s going to live better than a good portion of the law abiding population— free food, clothing, shelter, medical care, legal counsel, entertainment (cable TV, for crying out loud ! I can’t afford cable TV and I WORK for a living)… all at the taxpayers’ expense. And this ignores the ILLICIT things, such as contraband– cigarettes, drugs, porno mags and more….
(What a bugger-up the “war on drugs” is… they can’t even keep drugs out of the hands of prison inmates, yet they’re gonna make a drug-free America. HAH!)
The penitentiary system will WORK, once they start making prison a place that puts the fear of God into criminals once again.
John Cole
RH- The purpose of prison is to contain people who might act violently again, to punish people for their crimes, and to rehabilitate them so that they can be re-admitted to society when they have paid their time. Treating people miserably, keeping them in isolation, not rehabilating them, and spending years intimidating and threatening them, while not providing them with any useful skills merely takes a prison from its current status as a motel for criminals into a factory producing hardened recidivists.
Jim Jewell
I worked a few months as a guard at a women’s prison. It’s not true that none benefit from time in prison. Many do, if only because the time gives them a chance to break free of a destructive past life. Almost all are involved in rehabilitation or drug programs and many take college classes and earn degrees (associate et al). Still, they will find it tough when they are released. How many employers are willing to take a chance on an ex-con? Released inmates need help from friends and relatives. I’m committed to helping two inmates make the adjustment. They’ll be fine.
Jeremy Vincent
The prison system of the US is vastly over crowded and has been rendered defunct by Today’s emerging soceity, Reform programs, mentoring, rehabillitaton and prevention are key to steming the flow of the prison system’s gross incompetence. Granted there will always be chronic criminals who need to be shut away frm soceity for extreme wrongs agianst soceity.
But what about the 18-year old kid who makes a bad decision, realizes his error and could still become a productive member of soceity, instead of being locked in prison for the next 20 years…
Jeremy Vincent
The prison system of the US is vastly over crowded and has been rendered defunct by Today’s emerging soceity, Reform programs, mentoring, rehabillitaton and prevention are key to steming the flow of the prison system’s gross incompetence. Granted there will always be chronic criminals who need to be shut away frm soceity for extreme wrongs agianst soceity.
But what about the 18-year old kid who makes a bad decision, realizes his error and could still become a productive member of soceity, instead of being locked in prison for the next 20 years…