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

I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 265 posts

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

#211

Post by ciconia »

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…

> It's time to revisit the whole system, top down, and make it less about punishment and more about making sure it doesn't happen again. And it should be done with data.

I think the current system is actually less about punishment and more about oppression of certain social classes, namely non-whites and lower-class whites. It is a means of controlling social undesirables.

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

#212

Post by fivestar »

robschia wrote: post #3

I don't even know how to start. The US present themselves as paragons of freedom, and then they blatantly violate every kind of basic human right.

Compared to whom? You do realize that the vast, vast majority of people in prison are there because they did something pretty terrible. Oh, but they're all innocent if you ask them about what they did.

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

#213

Post by fivestar »

iagooar wrote: post #85

To some extent, solitary confinement is way, way worse than death sentence. It is burying people alive. It's a miracle a person can survive for so long and walk out of it in one piece. I imagine the psychological scars must be pretty profound...

Again, I'm much less concerned about their suffering and much more concerned that they are never allowed to offend in the manner that got them into prison in the first place. The bleeding hearts on here overlook the reality that many people are extremely dangerous and need to remain locked up. Maybe not in solitary all the time, but solitary is the exceptional case--the place where they put you when you have threatened or harmed guards, other prisoners, etc.

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

#214

Post by dang »

vikasg wrote: post #116
MrZongle2 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seemed appropriate, given the inanity of the parent comment. The United States: a human-rights-abusing farce of a country that is such a hellhole that over a million people from other countries legally immigrate to it every year, half that number are estimated to illegally immigrate to it annually, and the country's judicial system takes a stance to prevent its President from stemming the tide of inbound visitors…

Were you born and raised in a vat of frothy callous logic or did you choose to climb into it?

Personal attacks are not allowed on HN and will get your account banned, so please don't post them, regardless of how wrong or annoying another comment was.

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

#215

Post by jolux »

sho wrote: post #157
anigbrowl wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't sit with your first revelation, though. Jordan Peterson is a great lecturer but he leverages that to promote a particular worldview of his own. There's a reason for the Buddhist saying 'if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.' Please note that this is a metaphor for continually reworking your own ideas, not an exhortation to kill anyone who displays Buddha nature.

Fully aware of that and I fully agree. I am not putting him up as some sort of cult figure - he definitely has an agenda, and pushes it masterfully. That said it is probably the best argued agenda I have ever heard. As a full-blown atheist I had never heard such a good defence - explanation, really - of religion, and it's no exaggeration to say the fellow has radically changed my thinking on the matter. I think it is…

He's also a transphobic asshole who thinks the existence of "transgender ideology" is a crime against humanity comparable to Stalinism.

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

#216

Post by coldtea »

nieksand wrote: post #35
mallaidh wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even a week is too long, the effects on the brain can be measured by EEG within a few days, specifically a state of stupor and delirium. The psychological effects are dangerous and permanent.

How would you deal with an inmate that murders or rapes another inmate?

With non-solitary confinement.

They can't kill anybody if they're in a normal cell by themselves next to the other cells -- and with stuff like tv, radio, books, internet, etc still available.

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

#217

Post by lostlogin »

mgkimsal wrote: post #153
hellcow wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then could we make a small change to the incentive structure such that this becomes a non-issue? For instance, could the government pay out the fee over 10 or 20 years (perhaps paying it in full on release), and stop future payments if the prisoner dies while in custody?

why not let prisoners rate the prison, and withhold payments for poor reviews?

In many countries voters would vote in governments that promised to achieve 1 star prison ratings from prisoners.

While prisoners would be unlikely to rate their prison highly, perhaps reformed prisoners are slightly more likely to do so?

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

#218

Post by loteck »

refurb wrote: post #45
hellcow wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're absolutely right. Looking for a solution here, the central problem with the US prison system seems to be the incentive structure. Private prisons are paid based on how many inmates they have. Prisons are therefore incentivized to keep people as long as possible, and ensure that if a convict is ever released, that person commits another crime quickly and winds up back in prison. Instead, what if the state paid…

Private prisons are a minuscule percentage of all incarcerated Americans.

18% of federal inmates. 75% of immigration inmates. Miniscule?

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

#219

Post by jschulenklopper »

linuxhansl wrote: post #149
gallerdude wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Look into vipassana or insight meditation. It's something _everybody_ can learn and do, there is nothing mystical or religious or secret about it. You usually start with samadhi (or concentration), where you simply observe your breath - either as air movement through your nostrils or as movements of the abdomen. In the beginning you can count your breaths 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 1 again. Most people lose trac…

> In the beginning you can count your breaths 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 1 again.

Why leave out 9? :-)

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

#220

Post by CrowCrowCrow »

skookumchuck wrote: post #75
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…

Punishment of criminals does nothing to help the victims. The justice system should be about: 1. restitution (where possible) 2. removal of criminals from society so they cannot continue to harm others 3. re-integration of such people back into society when they are no longer a threat

As a counter to your opening point - it certainly helped me. It made me feel safer and I had a sense of justice. Not saying it's the same for everyone or that it's necessarily a good thing but the punishment of the person committing the act helped me to move on.
Post reply on HN