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The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

themarshallproject.org

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Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#4
No problem. These guys just need to get together to launch a class-action suit against whoever is responsible alleging unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. Shouldn't take more than 15 years to wend its way up to the Supreme Court, at which point all of these guys will get voucher for a MacDonalds Happy Meal.

Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#5
People talk about institutional evil. This is an example of it. You can almost trace their thinking "Oh, so solitary is bad now. We'll fix it. Put two people in a 10x4 cell. See, not solitary anymore, and we doubled the capacity too. Bonuses for everyone".

Ideally you'd think those who made those decision would be disciplined, pensions would be cut, etc. But nothing like that is gonna happen. Even if the family wins the lawsuit, it will be taxpayers paying for it.

One a deeper level, I wouldn't be surprised if many of those involved in running the prison would be thinking things like "well good, less people less worries. So what if he kills another one". Even more perverse, in some countries, prisoners who are known to kill and attack their cellmates are used as a coercion tool. That is effective against political prisoners and other undesirables who need to "confess" or be punished -- "behave or you'll end up in Sesson's cell ". On paper it looks completely by the rules and clean.

Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#6
post #3

It's disgusting that we treat humans like this. A reasonable person can understand perspectives on both sides of many contemporary hot topics, but I see no such leeway here. Isn't it time we stand up and simply fix something which is so clearly broken?

How we should treat the "animal" that kill people then?

Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#7
post #3

It's disgusting that we treat humans like this. A reasonable person can understand perspectives on both sides of many contemporary hot topics, but I see no such leeway here. Isn't it time we stand up and simply fix something which is so clearly broken?

(US point-of-view): in case one ignores the blaring media headlines and the incessant political noise on TV and via unsolicited phone calls, I must inform that this is an election year in this country.

There is still plenty of time to mobilize disenfranchised voters to perform a "regime change" to ensure that the people who gave us private jails, funding cuts for schools , increased corporate welfare, "war on drugs", and "tough on crime" hypocrisy are voted out.

Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#8
Not a godly sort but this passage seems appropriate:

> Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me'. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

America has a horrible problem with incarceration. It seems obvious but if the state takes away someone's rights (freedom) the state assumes a duty of care for those individuals. And a duty of care isn't extinguished because it costs too much or would be difficult to comply with or would be politically unpopular.

Specific to costs... if incarceration is costing too much then do something about the underlying root causes that result in incarceration.

Re: The Deadly Consequences of Solitary with a Cellmate

#9
post #3

It's disgusting that we treat humans like this. A reasonable person can understand perspectives on both sides of many contemporary hot topics, but I see no such leeway here. Isn't it time we stand up and simply fix something which is so clearly broken?

How we should treat the "animal" that kill people then?

Probably start by not calling them an animal? Dehumanizing someone is probably step 1 on the road mistreating them.
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