Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

newschannel9.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 202 posts

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#141

Post by nebabyte »

metafunctor wrote: post #124
nebabyte wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> please don't submit comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a common semi-noob illusion Either this thread (every time it comes up) needs to be curbed or the FAQ needs to be edited

Yeah, I've only been here like 8 years as a registered user. Mostly lurking, and clearly still a noob, hmm?

> or the FAQ needs to be edited

No matter how simple you try and keep a point, there will still always be someone who misses it.

I used to think this was just an extension of the "trying to idiotproof/universe builds a better idiot" law, but at this point it could probably be a law of its own.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#142

Post by [deleted] »

scoobydoo123 wrote: post #98
jacquesm wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is so terribly out-dated. The fact that a prisoner loses their freedom for a specified period of time should be the total of their debt to society. Some reform on this front would be good but I think it will be many decades before the US is ready to confront these things, if it doesn't fall apart beforehand due to the ever increasing divide, both geographically and ideologically.

> should be the total of their debt to society I call it BS. Why should ordinary people work and pay for criminals?

[deleted]

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#143

Post by Muuuchem »

rayiner wrote: post #108
jacquesm wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is so terribly out-dated. The fact that a prisoner loses their freedom for a specified period of time should be the total of their debt to society. Some reform on this front would be good but I think it will be many decades before the US is ready to confront these things, if it doesn't fall apart beforehand due to the ever increasing divide, both geographically and ideologically.

I think using inmate labor for money should be illegal, but I'm not sure prison would be workable at all without the 13th amendment. What counts as "forced labor?" Does that include forcing inmates to clean up after themselves in their cells or in cafeterias? Note that e.g. the German constitution has a similar carve out for prisoners.

I'm not so sure most inmates need to be forced. I have a family member who was incarcerated under the war on drugs and he was not initially allowed to work and grew extremely bored. They finally began to trust him and let him come on highway cleanups that he said was much better than sitting in a cell.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#144

Post by maxerickson »

jacquesm wrote: post #140
draugadrotten wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you'd teach them javascript in prison Thing is, you better start teaching them how to read and write! 60% More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate. Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level. They are many years away from grasping Closures and Curry. Source: http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

That's a good place to start then, but even better would be to have - you know, like most other places on earth in the developed world - a school system that would ensure basic literacy by the ripe old age of 9 or so.

You say this so stridently.

What measures of literacy do you think are useful for comparing developed countries?

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#145

Post by nebabyte »

sspiff wrote: post #20

So they were able to connect to the prison network, look through the state prison database using these computers and issue security passes to gain access to restricted areas. I think the prison needs to get someone to look at the security of their network and applications.

I know a few prisoners who could help with that...

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#146

Post by nebabyte »

mason240 wrote: post #127
antman wrote: post #65

They should be immediately released and then hired. Apparently the prison system needs their skills.

>One inmate, Adam Johnston He killed a man during a robbery. http://odrc.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/details.aspx?id=A414...

"Does whatever it takes to get the job done"

https://xkcd.com/705/

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#147

Post by jacquesm »

maxerickson wrote: post #144
jacquesm wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a good place to start then, but even better would be to have - you know, like most other places on earth in the developed world - a school system that would ensure basic literacy by the ripe old age of 9 or so.

You say this so stridently. What measures of literacy do you think are useful for comparing developed countries?

%age of the population that has left the education system and that classifies as functionally illiterate would be one way to do it. You're not going to get the answer with a written survey though.

The United States does not report their rate but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States is when compared with http://world.bymap.org/LiteracyRates.html and various other sources not something to be happy about.

Newly arrived immigrants from parts of the world where basic education is 'optional' is a problem as well but the fact that so many people native to a region do not have basic reading and writing skills is a real source of worry in a world that relies on reading and writing for almost all interaction.

Other things that require reading ability are and that are important to a functioning society are voting and the ability to use medication.

It's been a really long time since reading/writing were optional and with the increased reliance on technology to function in society that is only getting more important.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#148

Post by galdosdi »

rayiner wrote: post #108
jacquesm wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is so terribly out-dated. The fact that a prisoner loses their freedom for a specified period of time should be the total of their debt to society. Some reform on this front would be good but I think it will be many decades before the US is ready to confront these things, if it doesn't fall apart beforehand due to the ever increasing divide, both geographically and ideologically.

I think using inmate labor for money should be illegal, but I'm not sure prison would be workable at all without the 13th amendment. What counts as "forced labor?" Does that include forcing inmates to clean up after themselves in their cells or in cafeterias? Note that e.g. the German constitution has a similar carve out for prisoners.

I propose "is someone other than the laboring prisoners profitting from this labor?" as a good litmus test

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#149

Post by kazagistar »

amelius wrote: post #50
kazagistar wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what happens when you don't have layered security. MAC address whitelisting, crytographic hardware tokens, 2fa, etc all would have stopped it dead in its tracks, but someone decided a login screen would be "enough".

Yes, but it's easy to find effective countermeasures after the fact.

The point is that if you have multiple layers of countermeasures, then as long as one of them works you are OK. Too often are people willing to just rely on their one defensive layer.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#150

Post by scoobydoo123 »

darpa_escapee wrote: post #135
scoobydoo123 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. The basic rule of economics is that you have to give something in order to get something. Inmates should be given a choice of working and making money so they can pay for their living or do nothing and starve to death - just like any other member of the society outside of prison. What you're talking about is really a disproportion between amount of work they make (and value they produce) and the total amo…

> Inmates should be given a choice of working and making money so they can pay for their living or do nothing and starve to death - just like any other member of the society outside of prison. Do you believe the work prisoners do pay for their incarceration costs? Are you jealous that people whose freedom and agency are taken away are fed and housed by the state?

No, I'm not jealous - there is no need for personal remarks here. I'm just pointing out that it's not fair to the rest of the society. State will only be able to feed and house inmates, if it forcibly takes money from members of that society in the form of taxes. In order to give to someone, you have to take from someone else - it's that simple.
Post reply on HN