Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court

Post by anigbrowl » Fri, Dec 05, 2014, 5:48 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #35

ceejayoz wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Governor of New York proposed giving prisoners in essence a community college education while incarcerated. Outcry from the public and lawmakers made him shelve the concept, despite studies showing massive drops in recidivism from such things.

Moralism aside, there's a point at which prisoner benefits can create an incentive to commit crimes. Not rape and murder, of course, but if you're 18 years old and driftless and already weighing the costs and benefits of, say, a commercial B&E, the fact that your worst case scenario includes a college education will have an impact. I'm not silly enough to think it would make criminals out of people who weren't alread…

Post by Xeoncross » Fri, Dec 05, 2014, 6:00 PM UTC

Elrac wrote: post #26

ceejayoz wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Governor of New York proposed giving prisoners in essence a community college education while incarcerated. Outcry from the public and lawmakers made him shelve the concept, despite studies showing massive drops in recidivism from such things.

The US penal system is shockingly big on vengeance over resocialization. America's Christian fundamentalists like it that way because they claim as their own the worst personality flaws of their ancient Jewish war god. And American politicians know they can easily collect a few more votes by acting "tougher on crime."

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Dec 05, 2014, 6:07 PM UTC

mabbo wrote: post #11

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it: if the purpose of prison is to rehabilitate people, then we're going about it in a very strange way. Lock people away in a cell for a decade, deny them a lot of basic human rights (like books) then when they're good and messed up in the head from it, let them lose on the public. If they re-offend, well, that's clearly a sign that they are just a bad person . Best lock the…

Post by Fuzzwah » Fri, Dec 05, 2014, 6:14 PM UTC

atmosx wrote: post #40

tptacek wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moralism aside, there's a point at which prisoner benefits can create an incentive to commit crimes. Not rape and murder, of course, but if you're 18 years old and driftless and already weighing the costs and benefits of, say, a commercial B&E, the fact that your worst case scenario includes a college education will have an impact. I'm not silly enough to think it would make criminals out of people who weren't alread…

To me is strange for anyone to choose a life where he is absolutely not free, just to get a college degree. Degree or not, having jail time in your resume will have a (extremely?) negative impact.

Post by anigbrowl » Fri, Dec 05, 2014, 6:20 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #44

anigbrowl wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come across several cases of people who were not professional criminals committing crimes so they could get access to medical care, although this is obviously not an issue in the UK. Robbing a bank for $1 is still a crime, though not as severe one as intended: http://volokh.com/2011/06/21/man-commits-1-robbery-to-get-he... A similar case: http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2013/08/... Career cri…

> 80% of inmates at one Colorado county jail are either mentally ill or have serious medical issues that are diagnosed on arrival The creation of the mental health system in the UK in the first place was a direct result of the observation that a large percentage of people incarcerated were mentally ill.