As a former software engineer for over a decade and current corrections officer in a max level state facility, this is a very interesting topic. My facility has a large college presence within it. While there are problems with it, I think overall it is probably a net positive for the staff and inmates. At the same time, I don't believe that we have more than maybe a small handful of nonviolent/drug offenders; anybody on the outside advocating for murderers, rapists, and those in for armed robbery to have access to more of the normal comforts of the outside world is going to have a hard time and not much support. Even the medium level prisons have those types of people in them. So what facilities would wider access to remote learning and work become available? There would need to be honor facilities inmates must work towards proving they're responsible enough to be transferred to. Right now budgets are being slashed, we're at 60% staffing as it is, and the whole state is in the shit. And this is a "progressive liberal" state. It would probably take the federal government to start throwing money around for pilot programs, no state is going to increase their prison budget to accommodate this.
How I got here
171–180 of 373 posts
Re: How I got here
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
He was not born a drug wholesaler. He made that choice…twice! Rehabilitation is not the sole or even primary goal of incarceration. Nor should it be. But I do agree. People who’ve done their time shouldn’t have to wear a permanent scarlet letter. I just have little sympathy for repeat offenders of very serious felonies. This guy wasn’t a small time street dealer. He is probably partly responsible for many fentanyl ov…
> Rehabilitation is not the sole or even primary goal of incarceration. Nor should it be. I don't understand this perspective at all. "We shouldn't punish them after they've served their time, but let's make sure they don't leave with any new job prospects either."
Of course it's not the primary goal. The primary goal is to remove people from society so they cannot continue to inflict harm on others.
Re: How I got here
#173You might consider emailing him. It's lonely in jail/prison. Suddenly everyone you thought were your closest friends don't speak a word to you again. If you're lucky, you've got a wife or parents that'll write to you or take your calls.
Wow, I know you've been locked up, brother. Nobody will take your call the second you step inside a jail. Best man at your wedding? He's not picking up, I promise you. Literally nobody will call you or write to you. You will get nothing except maybe from your mother. If you are married, forget it. Humans only like to associate with success. Once you seem to be failing literally nobody will want to even speak to you.
Re: How I got here
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
So he chose to go back to a life of crime and we’re supposed to feel bad for him? There’s a reason he was able to make 20k in a weekend, it’s a high risk high reward business and I have no sympathy for someone who skirts societal norms and makes a shit ton of money in the process while plenty of people suck it up and earn the 10.50 until they can get back out in their own. This guy and his entire post reeks of entitl…
Guilty once, guilty forever right? You're defined by your lowest moment and surely can never come back from it ; and surely serving your sentence is never enough to be allowed a second chance. There's not a mention asking for sympathy in there. It's mostly factual, and explanatory of his experience. And the fact that giving opportunities to convicts to educate themselves and find their way seems a much better solutio…
*guilty twice
Re: How I got here
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's genuinely horrifying, and I don't find many opinions horrifying. Are you being serious or trolling? If serious, I hope people don't kill your comment because this is one I think should be discussed.
I'm not sure you can discuss someone out of a position like this through a screen. Or if you can, I'd very much like to see that. Some people want to solve problems with violence. And if that didn't work, you simply need more violence. It's as old as humanity. Sadly not a difference of values easily solved by discussion.
> Some people want to solve problems with violence. And if that didn't work, you simply need more violence.
Yes, that's one of the definitions of a criminal. Using violence against them is a natural and the most effective answer.
Re: How I got here
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's genuinely horrifying, and I don't find many opinions horrifying. Are you being serious or trolling? If serious, I hope people don't kill your comment because this is one I think should be discussed.
What's there to discuss? Some people think that the Holocaust was a good start. And Germany didn't have trouble staffing its concentration camps with eager soldiers. Genocides begin with the view that a population is less than human.
And now we are seeing the same happening again in Gaza perpetrated by the old victims.
Re: How I got here
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the recidivism rates on those crimes like? Our laws often reflect misguided morals, not hard data. Justice is supposed to be blind. That's an ideal to reach for, not reject out of hand.
https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-5-adult-sex-offender-re... > Sexual recidivism rates range from 5 percent after three years to 24 percent after 15 years. Also, I wouldn't put murder and rape in the same sentence. There are some situations where murder reasoning might be debatable even if still wrong (self defense against and archenemy that promised to assassinate your family, for example). But rape? There's no r…
I don't want to continue the can of terrifying worms :), but:
* I agree that what most of us generally mean in colloquial usage of the term "rape" is never justifiable
* However, in many jurisdictions, the legal definition of "rape" may be different and significantly broader than our colloquial usage. As an immediate example, a completely informed and consensual sexual experience between two teenagers may be considered "statutory rape", with all the prison, registered offender, difficulty getting a job and social stigma that follows a rape conviction. Whereas I personally don't think two teenagers having sex is indicative of mental illness.
It sucks, but the longer I live, the less immediately easily categorizable or black & white things are :<
Re: How I got here
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just got out after 10 years. I work with a lot of people just coming out (just been helping a guy locked up for 40 years, he's doing great). The biggest issue is that 95% of them will be returned within a few months. Drugs is the main cause. You get out, you have no ID, no job, no family, no friends. You're stuck in a halfway house that is just like being in prison (lots of rules, line up for meal service etc). All…
The no ID thing is interesting. The article mentions that as a major issue as well. Seems like it'd be a pretty cheap intervention to just issue all out-going prisoners a gov't photo ID on their release.
It is so terribly insane that this isn't done. You are being held by the state. The state has elevated access to state services. How easy would it be for them to hook into the state ID/DMV system and print you a state ID or driver's license before you leave?
If they can't verify your identity while you are in prison, then what are you even doing there?
All they did before I left prison was try to sign me up for Medicaid (I'm not elligible because I'm an illegal immigrant).
They did kindly let me keep my prison ID when I left which has my photo on it and says IN CUSTODY in giant letters. (they used to say INMATE but that word has gone out of fashion and they couldn't think of another word to use on the badges)
Re: How I got here
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
He was not born a drug wholesaler. He made that choice…twice! Rehabilitation is not the sole or even primary goal of incarceration. Nor should it be. But I do agree. People who’ve done their time shouldn’t have to wear a permanent scarlet letter. I just have little sympathy for repeat offenders of very serious felonies. This guy wasn’t a small time street dealer. He is probably partly responsible for many fentanyl ov…
From a purely moral/ethical perspective, this doesn’t withstand scrutiny. The foundational ideas underlying the justice system are inherently religious (in the literal sense) in that they depend on a world view that takes at face value the notion of free will, and assumes that all causal factors are under the control of the perpetrator. The more we learn about the mechanics of the brain, the less we have a reason to…
Your entire response relies on subjective claims. None if it is objective, factual, or falsifiable in the sense of say, physics. So, in effect, what you're saying is, "I have a better opinion." I disagree.
The Judeo-Christian viewpoint that you deride got us this far. The last 30 years of peace and prosperity (which was created by and from the societies founded in Judeo-Christianity morality) has given way to a mindrot in the West. One of the features of this mindrot are the luxury beliefs that you're espousing. Incarceration works. Retribution within the confines of the law works. In case you're unsure about this, look at the miracle that is El Salvador since they threw all the gang members in prison. Meanwhile, San Francisco, for example, continues to slowly implode under the type of beliefs and their attendant policies enabled by a drift away from the "Judeo-Christian viewpoint". You can philosophize all you want. All I care about are outcomes. I'd much prefer the El Salvadorian type of outcome over that of San Francisco.
Re: How I got here
#180> Who else has an opportunity to spend 12+ hours a day learning something for years? With no other obligations or responsibilities? Totally tangential, but this prison article reminded me of a short story by Cory Doctorow about a monastery for programmers. I imagined living in a room about the size of my home office, a bed, a desk, a decent MacBook Pro and a high-speed connection and just hanging out on the Internet…
PhD can be like this but for a limited time.