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The underground economy of solitary confinement

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Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#111

Post by xapata »

t-writescode wrote: post #74
xapata wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could leave town. There's always another option.

I get the spirit of this; but if I can’t say that to people making poverty wages and being trapped, I can’t say they to prison guards, either. Collectively and individually, the United States must “be better”, though.

> if I can’t say that to people making poverty wages and being trapped, I can’t say they to prison guards, either

Indeed. I think the same for everyone. Poverty is not an excuse for brutality.

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#112

Post by lupire »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #41
Synaesthesia wrote: post #13

The US prison system is so brutal and things like solitary confinement, which is torture, totally normalised. We need to call attention to these things.

Call attention? It's already known and public information; clearly, awareness alone does nothing. No, this needs sweeping political reform. Elect better leaders. Make the police, prison guards, military, politicians and rich people accountable.

Which politician campaigns on prison reform?

This needs Freedom Protests in the street.

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#113

Post by lupire »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #17
Synaesthesia wrote: post #13

The US prison system is so brutal and things like solitary confinement, which is torture, totally normalised. We need to call attention to these things.

There's a video on YouTube of a prison warden who went into solitary for 48 hours. He said it was painful - but that, considering how violent some of the prisoners he had to hold were, he would still not rule out its use. It's not an ideal option in any way, but sometimes it's just the least-bad option. In my opinion, we should focus on overuse and abuse of solitary confinement, but elimination is not possible for so…

Solitary confinement is far beyond physical separation of violent people.

Being able to see sunlight and other people isn't a risk of violence.

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#114

Post by omegaworks »

lupire wrote: post #105
kingcharles wrote: post #54

I did three stints in solitary. First for writing to my wife and explaining how I traded coffee for stamped envelopes, which got me an extortion charge. On the last day of my "sentence" in solitary I had my trial and was found "not guilty" of the charge. Of course, it was like Alice in Wonderland, I did my time then got my trial. (during this time in solitary though they went through all my property and figured out I…

After such ongoing illegal torture, why don't former prisoners or their loved ones get together and execute serious reprisals?

The system is designed to isolate prisoners from their loved ones, if they have any to begin with. Once free it requires significant resources to execute legal reprisals.

https://www.occupy.com/article/jpay-scam-prison-bankers-cash...

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#115

Post by TameAntelope »

omegaworks wrote: post #114
lupire wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After such ongoing illegal torture, why don't former prisoners or their loved ones get together and execute serious reprisals?

The system is designed to isolate prisoners from their loved ones, if they have any to begin with. Once free it requires significant resources to execute legal reprisals. https://www.occupy.com/article/jpay-scam-prison-bankers-cash...

He didn't say "legal reprisals".

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#116

Post by buran77 »

randomacct8162 wrote: post #34
Ekaros wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood the whole felon thing, if that is allowed discrimination outside certain roles how can those people ever be expected back to society? Ofc, they are going to do more crime if it is their only realistic option for reasonable income.

> "if that is allowed discrimination outside certain roles how can those people ever be expected back to society? Ofc, they are going to do more crime if it is their only realistic option for reasonable income." And you've found the answer to why the American judicial/prison-complex is a revolving door system. "Welcome to the Hotel California. You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave!"

It's a method to exercise control over a large slice of the population and rob them of the means to challenge their position. I don't think too may see it necessarily as a fair measure that must be imposed on those people for the protection of them or others.

On the other hand you have egregious cases where such a measure would completely make sense but is ignored because of larger interests. One of them is how EU public institutions screen all their employees and filter out felons. And then a public institution like the European Central Bank names Christine Lagarde president, just 3 years after she received a criminal conviction of negligence in allowing the misuse of public funds.

A freshly minted criminal can be named president of an institution in more or less the same general area as where she committed her crime. But a someone with a minor drug charge can't take a dev job... Both are a stain on modern society.

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#117

Post by s1artibartfast »

watwut wrote: post #110
s1artibartfast wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that power is a factor, I just don't think it is a self contained explanation.

People in position oc control and no supervision abuse those outside of prisons often enough.

What's your point?

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#118

Post by mastazi »

vkou wrote: post #102
ROTMetro wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, at least where I was, this was EVERYONE's life (no just solitary) for a year due to COVID. Only with no legal protections, all constitutional requirements waived, because, you know, emergency, and totally not just because the staff were lazy and this allowed them to do zero work.

Edit: My reading comprehension is very, very poor.

I think that parent was describing life inside a prison, but out of solitary confinement, not life in general, this sentence of their post suggests it: "and totally not just because the staff were lazy and this allowed them to do zero work."

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#119

Post by shuntress »

vkou wrote: post #102
ROTMetro wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, at least where I was, this was EVERYONE's life (no just solitary) for a year due to COVID. Only with no legal protections, all constitutional requirements waived, because, you know, emergency, and totally not just because the staff were lazy and this allowed them to do zero work.

Edit: My reading comprehension is very, very poor.

I'm pretty sure you cannot just "go walking outside for as long as you wanted" when you are in jail.

Re: The underground economy of solitary confinement

#120

Post by mastazi »

jknoepfler wrote: post #106
ROTMetro wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, at least where I was, this was EVERYONE's life (no just solitary) for a year due to COVID. Only with no legal protections, all constitutional requirements waived, because, you know, emergency, and totally not just because the staff were lazy and this allowed them to do zero work.

Are you describing conditions in a prison in the USA outside of solitary confinement? (That's the only way I can make sense of the reply).

the mention of "staff" in the last sentence of the post suggests that it's about a prison
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