Prison shows, such as 'Lockup' and 'America's Hardest Prisons'

[zarathrustra]

These are now airing in the UK. My goodness, what horrible places these prisons are. The prisoners have good reason to be more afraid of each other than of the guards. In the UK, prison gang culture is by no means as developed. Nor are they anywhere near as dangerous as US prisons seem to be.

[synthisislab]

Yes, as much as I dislike criminals, I think there should be separate prisons or sections of prisons for violent offenders and non-violent offenders. I also believe mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses should be done away with and should be imposed on violent and habitual offenders instead. As it is, there is no way for rehabilitation, just warehousing of prisoners where they are treated worse than animals in most cases, then released upon society where all the odds are stacked against them, and people wonder why these parolees can't stay out of trouble when they can't find decent jobs, so they go back to being criminals again. It's a vicious cycle and it's embarrasing to me that my tax dollars go to support this fallable system. Prisons in America are basically gladiator and criminal training grounds where they learn from each other how to better rob, steal, and murder. No politician with major clout seems to want to reform the system as they would be seen as being soft or weak on crime. So the people that are overly tough on prisoners keep getting re-elected and the system gets worse and worse and prisons keep getting built everyday and corporations take advantage of the cheap labor.

Don't get me wrong though, I believe in harsh punishment for some that can never be rehabilitated. The others, I think should be given chances to live normal lives once they have served out their punishment. Many of these prisoners have nothing to do but bide their time and be idle. If you give them absolutely nothing to do to be positive, then they'll just be animals when released. Anyways, I'm ranting on now, but you get the gist.

[Big3sCompanyFan]

There was an interesting show on NGEO on Texas Death Row where the most executions are done in the western world. It just premiered last week.

They actually showed families visiting the dead bodies in the morgue after the execution. It was pretty graphic as they showed eveything but an execution.

A Texas CO said Texas move to its own beat as it was an independent country for 10 years so they tend to do things as they like regardless of what the rest of the country thinks and the state is very pro DP.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by synthisislab

Yes, as much as I dislike criminals, I think there should be separate prisons or sections of prisons for violent offenders and non-violent offenders. I also believe mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses should be done away with and should be imposed on violent and habitual offenders instead. As it is, there is no way for rehabilitation, just warehousing of prisoners where they are treated worse than animals in most cases, then released upon society where all the odds are stacked against them, and people wonder why these parolees can't stay out of trouble when they can't find decent jobs, so they go back to being criminals again. It's a vicious cycle and it's embarrasing to me that my tax dollars go to support this fallable system. Prisons in America are basically gladiator and criminal training grounds where they learn from each other how to better rob, steal, and murder. No politician with major clout seems to want to reform the system as they would be seen as being soft or weak on crime. So the people that are overly tough on prisoners keep getting re-elected and the system gets worse and worse and prisons keep getting built everyday and corporations take advantage of the cheap labor.

Don't get me wrong though, I believe in harsh punishment for some that can never be rehabilitated. The others, I think should be given chances to live normal lives once they have served out their punishment. Many of these prisoners have nothing to do but bide their time and be idle. If you give them absolutely nothing to do to be positive, then they'll just be animals when released. Anyways, I'm ranting on now, but you get the gist.

I think many forget that criminals--despite the terrible things they do or their sometimes complete disregard for human life--are living, breathing things, human beings.

It's utterly ironic that there are some in this country who are vehement about the "protection of life", but decry prisoner rehabilitation and support the death penalty. They demand "eye-for-an-eye" justice, that criminals should suffer the same evils they inflict on their victims. That's not justice. That's reducing the state to a collective criminal itself.

Life is life is life. Respecting it entails providing environments for penance--a place to pay for one's crimes while simulataneously honing the tools necessary not to commit them again. That is, after all, the root of the word penitentiary. Unfortunately, I don't believe most of our prisons and jails quite fit that bill.

[kadrmas15]

Yes this has long been a problem in the American system, particularly since the mid 1980's or so when rehabilitation in prisons was basically completely done away with. Since then the prison population has exploded, recidivism rates are at all time highs as is the jail and prison population. I watch Lockup regularly and while I do find it interesting the show also demonstrates many of the problems with this country's prisons. I also yes have long found it ironic that many of those that are supposedly 'pro life' are also the most avid supporters of the death penalty due to what I consider to be a misinterpretation of a bible verse.

But yes rehabilitation and programs of that nature are few and far between if they are offered at all. Basically prisons are more like human warehouses than everything else as it is very easy to get put in there not so easy to get back out. These are largely due to minimum mandatory sentences, like in Florida inmates are required if serving non life or non death sentences to serve 85 percent or more of their sentence before being released. It is a one sized fits all solution when cases should be decided on a case by case basis based on the inmate as not all inmates are the same and their situations are not all the same.

As of today, gosh what are all the states I write inmates in? California, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by kadrmas15

Basically prisons are more like human warehouses than everything else as it is very easy to get put in there not so easy to get back out. These are largely due to minimum mandatory sentences, like in Florida inmates are required if serving non life or non death sentences to serve 85 percent or more of their sentence before being released. It is a one sized fits all solution when cases should be decided on a case by case basis based on the inmate as not all inmates are the same and their situations are not all the same.

Absolutely.

[Big3sCompanyFan]

Originally Posted by kadrmas15

I also yes have long found it ironic that many of those that are supposedly 'pro life' are also the most avid supporters of the death penalty due to what I consider to be a misinterpretation of a bible verse.

But yes rehabilitation and programs of that nature are few and far between if they are offered at all. Basically prisons are more like human warehouses than everything else as it is very easy to get put in there not so easy to get back out.

The bible is pure MYTH with no basis in fact i.e. zero historical corroboration of any events or people described in the bible. Our constitution doesn't mention the word god at all and it has NOTHING to do with Christianity and it makes perfect sense since 2 of our most prominent founding fathers, Jefferson and Franklin, knew the bible was based on myth and were not Christians.

One of the best examples of the warehouses is the ADX Supermax federal prison in Florence, CO. Some inmates don't even see a guard there. Everything is automated. Eric Rudolph, the Atlanta bomber, said it's like being "buried alive" and people have higher rates of heart disease and other chronic diseases since they are stuck in cages 23 hours a day with nothing to do.

There have been several suicides there an it's not a surprise.

[waylon]

Anyone have any of these as I would be interested in watching most of these.