41–50 of 166 posts
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.
Did 20 months in federal for selling cannabis. Also spent time in solitary. Conditions are far worse than you could imagine. Also, many prisons are functionally solitary so the 4% number is way low. The economic networks in prisons are wild, and of course there are incentives for guards to participate. Not only are there massive number of cell phones in prisons, there are cell phones in solitary because the guards sm…
maybe a naive question, but where does all the money come from? I can understand that prisoners would trade favors and artificially scarce items (eg cigarettes) amongst themselves. but what's in it for the guards? I wouldn't expect a bunch of people that aren't allowed to have jobs to have a ton of cash to throw around.
What is the alternative to solitary confinement? There are some people who are a persistent threat and menace to others. There are 3 ways that society has dealt with them: Execution Banishment Imprisonment We are trying to do away with execution, so that is not a real alternative. Banishment really doesn't work in the modern, connected world. That leaves imprisonment. However, within prison, you also have a society,…
FWIW, I am not against the death penalty. It makes much more economic sense than life in prison (it costs ludicrous amounts of money to house prisoners per-annua) and as someone who has done prison time my personal opinion is I'd rather be killed than face the mental agony of living the rest of my days in there. I'm not sure why so many people are against it or think it's inhumane. I think it's a bit silly considerin…
The argument, "Life in prison is a fate worse than death" is an argument to make prison more humane, not an argument to kill people instead.
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Holy shit I didn't know that. Those guards belong in jail themselves, what they did is torture. Prison exists to remove from society people who are incompatible with it, nothing more and even that must be constantly questioned and re-evaluated. Nobody deserves to have their dignity stripped away like that.
It also exists to make people compatible with society again. Or at least should be.
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I quickly figured out they were mostly there to break the monotony. I threw out the curriculum and did basic graph theory and some logic stuff. I only had one run in with someone. The prisoners treated me decently. I gave them all passing grades and just wanted them to get out of the experience whatever they wanted to get out of it.
How did you get into that? It's something I would love to do but I never knew how or if you could volunteer to just do a single course, if you'd have any sort of support, etc.
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I quickly figured out they were mostly there to break the monotony. I threw out the curriculum and did basic graph theory and some logic stuff. I only had one run in with someone. The prisoners treated me decently. I gave them all passing grades and just wanted them to get out of the experience whatever they wanted to get out of it.
How did you get into that? It's something I would love to do but I never knew how or if you could volunteer to just do a single course, if you'd have any sort of support, etc.
Most of the professors were paid, I did it as volunteer work.
What is the alternative to solitary confinement? There are some people who are a persistent threat and menace to others. There are 3 ways that society has dealt with them: Execution Banishment Imprisonment We are trying to do away with execution, so that is not a real alternative. Banishment really doesn't work in the modern, connected world. That leaves imprisonment. However, within prison, you also have a society,…
Have not heard, or haven't given the issue a bit more thought? Why do people end up in prison and solitary confinement? And how can that be prevented?
The US has the highest incarceration rate of any country. Why is that? Are the people that bad? If so, why are they so bad? If not, why are they thrown into jail so much?
The issue I have with your comment is that you're tunnel visioned at the punishment part, without thinking of prevention and rehabilitation, or the systems in place (political, financial) that make it so that so many people end up in prison in the first place.
Have a closer look at subjects like the War on Drugs, the private prison system, and different ideologies behind punishment - rehabilitation vs retaliation. Look at other countries as well; how many people are in solitary confinement in Europe? How much violence is there between inmates there?
The problem is not solitary confinement.
What is the alternative to solitary confinement? There are some people who are a persistent threat and menace to others. There are 3 ways that society has dealt with them: Execution Banishment Imprisonment We are trying to do away with execution, so that is not a real alternative. Banishment really doesn't work in the modern, connected world. That leaves imprisonment. However, within prison, you also have a society,…
FWIW, I am not against the death penalty. It makes much more economic sense than life in prison (it costs ludicrous amounts of money to house prisoners per-annua) and as someone who has done prison time my personal opinion is I'd rather be killed than face the mental agony of living the rest of my days in there. I'm not sure why so many people are against it or think it's inhumane. I think it's a bit silly considerin…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Those guards belong in jail themselves... The guards are just the product of a system/culture.
Don't make apologies for people who choose torture and who chose to participate in said system / culture. It's a job; if they had morals they would quit, whistleblow, or punish colleagues for this behaviour. I can't believe the pay would be THAT good. There's clearly no adequate chain of command or repercussions for this crime.
Most prisons exist in places that are economically depressed with few if any other jobs. In some cases, the entire existence of a town revolves around the prison. Quitting is hardly an option when it’s the only real option for putting food on your table and a shelter over your head.
I spent 3 years in US prisons for drug charges picked up when I was an addict and did a 90-day stint in solitary for breaking up a fight between two acquaintances. AMA. I'll start with: Yes, "fishing" is one of the first things you learn. It's not just for solitary, you use it to get stuff under other people doors when you're not out of your cells on a regular unit too, or when you don't want guards to suspect someth…
Do solitary confinement help in correcting illegal/bad/wrong behaviour among prisoners in your opinion? Seems to me that it can only breed resentment and detachment.
Most people are in solitary for fighting or disobeying instructions. Putting them in solitary does not change their behavior.
One thing - I was scared of solitary before I went there the first time. After the first time you realize there is nothing more (legally) the authorities can do to you once you're in solitary. You're in jail, in jail. Jail is boring as fuck. Solitary is super boring. But it's still jail. When you go there the second time you are prepared for everything and know how to run the system.
A lot of people also end up doing a long time in there because they misbehave in solitary, which is expected. You do it because (i) you're pissed off; (ii) there is nothing more they can do to you; (iii) it's fun to be finally be able to tell a certain guard that he is a piece of shit and his wife is ugly.