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I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

theguardian.com

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Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#121

Post by okreallywtf »

nether wrote: post #62

This is the worst of racism. The next time a white HNer tells PoC to just turn the other cheek toward racist words, point them to this. Racist attitudes are what enable horrific crimes against blacks, such as these.

This is why the of the alt-right and mens-rights and conservative christians fucking terrify me. Somehow, while making slow steady progress a seemingly large swath of people have gotten the idea that things are exactly backwards. As far as they are concerned, whites, males and Christians are under attack and are now lashing out at minorities, women, and non-Christians as if they are "turning the tide" rather than continuing centuries old conflicts.

Every time I read someone talk about a SJW (social justice warrior) somewhere I cringe thinking about what my country will be like in 10 years if not sooner. People seriously think SJWs and political correctness are our actual problems as if things are fine otherwise.

There are a lot of good people here but there are a lot of people with no empathy and little knowledge and then about 200 million people who just do not care as long as the power and internet stay on and they are left alone.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#122

Post by ars »

TheCoelacanth wrote: post #109
Noumenon72 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But after you've tried environmental design, incentives, threats, guards, and surveillance, then can it be accomplished without the small, windowless room? I'd guess not at a reasonable cost.

Why would a small windowless room ever be necessary? How would an unarmed person harm someone from inside a normal prison cell?

You should look at photos. Most prisons don't have single cells, they have large rooms with bunks, or they have shared cells with 2 or more people in each one.

They should make cells that are tiny and fit one person - but have lots of opening and permission to talk to anyone around them.

That way there is physical isolation, but not mental isolation.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#123

Post by zepto »

jonnathanson wrote: post #72
pillowkusis wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the challenge is that literally nobody is incentivized to make changes to this system. the situation is really bad for politicians. A politican voting to reform a clearly broken prison system faces tons of risks to their career. Even one wrong vote for improving the prison system will get you labeled as "soft on crime," a dangerous liability for Democrats and nearly a death sentence for Republicans. Every change you…

This is why we have the Fourth Estate. Politicians won't vote to reform our prison system until that system's flaws and abuses and inefficiencies are made into a big public issue. We need more reporters and more columnists publishing more stories about this topic. This is a civil rights issue, and it should be written about as such.

The fourth estate is owned by a few rich men.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#124

Post by ars »

gallerdude wrote: post #58
adrice727 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people feel this way, but under the right circumstances (i.e. a meditation retreat) and with enough practice, you'll have access to states of deeply profound peace beyond anything you imagined possible.

Can you elaborate on this - would love to resolve my fear.

Do you fear being trapped (say trapped for 2 days, but you knew after that someone would let you out).

Or do you fear having nothing to do, being forced into no action, for that time?

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#126

Post by wesleytodd »

Toenex wrote: post #88
jernfrost wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am Norwegian, so I thought I'd add a few points, which I think greatly influence the difference. 1) Prison guard education is just a few weeks in the US to my knowledge. In Norway it is a 3 year college education, where you learn about mental illness, why people become criminals, how to rehabilitate people etc. The prison guard job in Norway, is by American standards more like a social worker. Guards spend a lot of…

> The world was divided into order and chaos not good and evil. What an interesting point.

If you are interested in a series of fantasy novels with a similar order/chaos mythology, I recommend the Saga of Recluce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saga_of_Recluce

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#127

Post by heyoni »

mod wrote: post #120
BowBun wrote: post #31

The prison system is a crazy, privatized torture system designed to keep the poor incarcerated to increase profits for all the contract work related to running the prison system. Rikers is a great example of a clearly flawed jail system, with inmates getting stuck for years without trial and sometimes killing themselves after losing hope. Having recently gone through the judicial system as a white male, I can't image…

You said you can't imagine being a black man going through the judicial system, and then pointed at your wealth as the source of your "win," rather than your race.

Race and wealth are typically intertwined in the form of varying levels of opportunity.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#128

Post by adekok »

jernfrost wrote: post #69

I really shouldn't be reading stuff like this. It makes me so angry. It is odd that so many conservative Americans think racism isn't a thing. Blacks are dismissed as violent thugs, who are the fault of their own problems. But who had acted peaceful and well adjusted if they were subject to as much oppression, prejudice and brutality as the blacks of the US? People are products of their environments just like animals…

> Blacks are dismissed as violent thugs, who are the fault of their own problems.

Black men are dismissed... as are most men, TBH.

The incidence of incarceration goes: black men, white men, black women, white women.

Also, rich tends to beat poor, even considering race. e.g. O.J. Simpson.

https://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/features/Pages/starr_g...

Men tend to get 63% larger sentences than women. And that difference is larger than the difference between races.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#129

Post by vivekd »

jernfrost wrote: post #84
arcticbull wrote: post #7

Honestly, I find the US prison system absolutely horrifying in all respects. As satisfying as it may be for victims to feel the person that did something to them is 'gone' they will eventually be let out, and when they do I want them to be ready to integrate with society. Recidivism rates in the US show it is objectively not working, with state prisons leaving inmates to re-offend 76% of the time. [1] In Norway, much…

I am Norwegian, so I thought I'd add a few points, which I think greatly influence the difference. 1) Prison guard education is just a few weeks in the US to my knowledge. In Norway it is a 3 year college education, where you learn about mental illness, why people become criminals, how to rehabilitate people etc. The prison guard job in Norway, is by American standards more like a social worker. Guards spend a lot of…

>Christianity is quite focused on the idea of good and evil. Norse mythology was never like that. Norse mythology was never like that. There was no evil devil. The world was divided into order and chaos not good and evil.

What? Why do people say stuff like this? The Norse myths were from a millennium ago, no one has believed in them for almost a thousand years. Maybe Norway is largely atheistic now but for the majority of its recent history it was a Lutheran nation and before that the nation had a Catholic tradition dating back to 900 A.D.

Even today Christianity is Norway`s biggest religion, enjoys regular church attendance of a quarter of its population, and has half of the population declaring they believe in a Christian, not Norse, conception of God.

Clearly Christianity has some influence on Norwegian thinking.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#130

Post by thrownawaybylaw »

I did 45 days in solitary within the context of a longer bid. It was hell. Given the effects it has had on my mind and life, I cannot imagine what 29 years will do. It changes the way you behave so subtly, it's even interesting to me now. My friends think it's hilarious how casually I talk to myself. I live a pretty isolated life; I feel more comfortable that way.

Where I was, there was no outside fenced area for the hour mandated rec time. It was a 6'Lx3'Wx6'H fenced dog cage. At least there was a large open window to the outside to look at from the other side of the room.

You're also mandated an occasional hour at the "Law Library", which was really just a single computer with LexisNexis and Microsoft Office in an otherwise empty 4'x6' room. That VB class I had taken really came in handy.

I learned to make some reasonable dice out of toilet paper. Too. Much. Yahtzee.

In the case of the man in the article, his case was overturned. Hopefully, he won't have a criminal record. Getting a job today with a criminal record is incredibly difficult. That's the biggest reason why recidivism is high [x]. It's great that there's a push to "ban the box" (that is, to not ask about criminal history in job applications), but it hasn't made it to all the states. Furthermore, many companies blanketly don't hire felons[x] regardless of the context of the crimes and/or rehabilitation of the individual. Background checks aren't a fair process in their review. Good-bye any real life.

[x] I'm sure somebody is going to argue that the bigger deal is a lack of quality mental health or addiction services provided to inmates and the dearth of such programs prior to conviction, and they'd be right too.

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