A better prison system

Post Reply New Topic

I don't know anything about prison systems overseas, but the Australian system is truly messed up. On average, a criminal in prison costs us AU$55,000 per year (I think that is the figure). Rapists and murderers and such are often released for crazy arse reasons after a couple of years. Sometimes relatively safe white collar criminals are put in with murderers and such. Many of them have internet access, TV and video, swimming pools, very nice gymnasiums, and more. Basically it's a big joke. And almost 70% of criminals released from prison go on to offend again and go back to prison.

I had the idea that our prison system should be as follows:

Class 1 prisons:

• White collar crims, those who have shown no violence in their crimes.
• They get the most spent on their comforts and security, and the most effort is made for training and such.
• Class 1 criminals should never be in prison as long as any Class 2 criminal. Sentences should be shorter than for Class 2s.

• Crims who have been violent, but have caused no permanent damage.
• In the middle as far as spending and comforts and such are concerned.
• Longer sentences than for Class 1s, but not permanent.

• Crims who have caused some permanent problem, such as murder or rape or mutilation.
• Very little money is spent on them. Bare concrete cells, gruel for dinner, no TV or internet and such; don't spend much on them at all. Do only enough to meet the bare minimum required under international law.
• Since they inflicted permanent harm, their sentence should be permanent. Leave them in until they die.

I would find it reprehensible as well as incredibly irresponsible that the Ken Leigh's, (Ex-Enron CEO) Bernie Ebbers (Ex-MCI WorldCom CEO) and others of that ilk would live it up in a 'Country Club' prison, recieve 'training', and be released whilst the average murderer would subsist in a 'grey' environment devoid of comfort for the rest of their natural life.

A good deal of killings and mutilations are 'Crimes of Passion', which is to say, crimes committed by extremely emotional people in the 'heat of the moment'. White Collar crime is motivated by greed, and power, pure and simple. I find the system that you propose illogical because of that.

Money is power and power is life. All things in society are tied back to money, if you want a doctor to do a life saving operation then you need to pay the doctor for his services, if you need medication then you need to pay for the pills to be physically made and for the chemists who made them, if you want food to live then you need to pay the farmer, if you want housing then you need to pay for the land and labor to build the structure. Nothing in life is free, it all has to be paid for using a form of power, which could be anything, however, money as power is often the basic currency. If you don't have power on your side then you can't live.

The crooked CEOs need an example made of them to be sure because they did great damage to society and we don't want anyone to ever want to follow their example. Like big fines raised against them, or really harsh punishments or something. Something harsh but not permanent as that would be too harsh.

Anyway, I guess that the 3 ranks of prisons are alright. I think that all 3 sets of prisoners should be forced to work or incentized to do so or something, especially the 3rd group, although we should probably figure out a working incentive system if only to avoid prison riots. I do think that the system you have outlined is somewhat workable, maybe requiring some tweaks it still has some good ideas as prison could benefit from specialization and focus.

Or perhaps instead of revamping and rebuilding the prison system, we can focus more effort on answering the question, "WHY are there so many prisoners?" I've just been thinking about this because my city and state want to raise taxes to build bigger and better jails and prisons. It just doesn't seem fair, does it...?

I think they should all be living with class 3 emenities (white collar criminals especially need it) and the people who are in there for multiple murders should just be processed through where death row is a 3 month waiting list and where the chair's always cooking. Some people can be rehabed, some can't, and for those who've taken way more from society than they'll ever give and frankly don't care - no point in keeping them around.

i think no matter what the crime anda time in jail the jail should be a place of PUNISHMENT not joy!! !! my mom used to work in the prison system until july and she seen in the max security prison and juvenile detention theres no brick cells and bars. it is like a college dorm but with doors that lock from outside. still I think from this environment the only thing they cannot do is get a job that you have to have a clean record to get(police or locksmithing) the criminal sees the prisons today as a place to sleep at night and socialize and rehabilitate self. I think it should also look like a place of punishment and act like it such as that in alcatraz with thicker or stiffer bars.I think if a person was put in a cage they will learn that this is a place of punishment not just another place to stay warm and get a slap on the wrist.

There are many criminals who are in prison because society could not serve their needs.
There should be preventive programs in place to help the underprivaleged people rather then just throwing them in jail.

Assume there's this aspie adult. He is very sensitive to touch. He stands alone inside a train station waiting for the train. He stands at one end all alone, because the crowd is too irritating for him. Then comes this cop who is really worried about who is and who isn't a terrorist. He starts asking this aspie guy why he's standing there all alone. He says: "I'm just more comfortable down here. Not as many people." The cop doesn't like that, so the cop attempts to prod into his past. The cop refuses to shut up and leave him alone. Now say this aspie guy starts screaming ... you know? Typical aspie stuff. All this guy wants is to be left alone, but the cop has other ideas on his mind, like whether or not he is a terrorist. So, the guy eventually lashes out a punch. Now, the cop takes him in and charges him with assault.

According to your prison analogy, this aspie guy would be sent into a Class II prison. Dude, what's going through your mind? The system is like a heartless vulture.

- Ray M -

[sarcasm]Yeah, all of this makes perfect sense because as we all know, punishment works great at teaching people.

There is no problem that can't be solved with snap decisions and application of enough force.

And anyone who says differently is a stupid commie out of touch with reality.
[/sarcasm]

According to the reasoning of some people that as I recieved relatively little punishment, I should be a horrible horrible person. Beating up nuns, eating babies and the like. (I could also bring up a lot of other things that logically should make me more evil then Hitler, but I suspect it'll throw the thread off)

Now I'm sure that some people will not like my 'attack the route causes of crime, find a way to teach them' rather then 'punish them until they get the idea/make'm suffer' approach. I'll address the blatantly obvious ones right now.

"But the damage is done! So and so is dead, it's not right that they get away with it!"
It isn't fair that so and so got murdered. Murder is wrong. And deplorable. And sick. It shouldn't happen. What does that have to do with making the killer suffer? If you believe violence is wrong, how is being violent to the violent somehow right? You say that it's justice. A lot of people murder each because they believe they are doing justice to begin with.


"These criminals cannot be cured."
[sarcasm]Yeah, you're right. Lets not even try. I mean our attempts to do so are pretty inept and half hearted to begin with. Since that doesn't work, lets not only give up, but assume the same is going to be the case in 100% of all situations[/sarcasm]

That probably about covers how I feel. Throw a lot of therapy at them. Heck, even drugs might be appropriate in the situation (I am generally very anti-drug)

I don't know about that!

What makes prisons work is the solitude- the "being forgotten and left in a room to rot" part; the "society is better off without you in it" part.

The perfect prison would be a prison of the mind- small rooms with people strapped to a table with a feeding tube and a colostomy bag forced to watch VR... Clockwork Orange, Minority Report or even Coma... that would be the perfect prison: you literally get disconnected from the world.

Until then, prisons should be happy fun places to be. And when someone breaks a rule, their privledges are taken away from them. Then they get to watch as everyone around them is happy and having fun while they get to sit in a cell and watch. The prison should be designed like Dante's Inferno with the most antisocial people in a deep, dark basement with lots of creepy things all about.

Also- prisons should be self-sufficient societies. Solar and wind powered and self-sustaining- the prisoners' jobs should be something mundane, but productive like terraforming the desert to produce food to feed the prison.

And on a personal note- I'd like to see "future prisoners". You know- people who committed no crime that volunteer to do prison time. That way, you build up enough "time served" so when you finally do decide to make an example of someone, you already paid the price... you're free to go!