Proof that prison life is better then civilian life for felons...

the prison system is big business....i had a mate who did months recently and according to him the food was terrible ...the prison system here makes all their own food as well as many other things,but as he was saying the food was awful...not only that he heard a guy get strangled to death a few cells away....not exactly a great environment...

he was falsely accused and did 9 months...he is in the process of suing the police and looks like he will win and be compensated a couple of million dollars...but he is still very angry and i doubt he will integrate well back into society...the chip on his shoulder will never go away

Here this title is incorrect, "proof prison life is better than civilian life for everyone" there I fixed it.

Yeah, I don't buy it. All the stories that you hear about cops roughing up civilians at the drop of a hat, I can't imagine what it's like for prisoners.

I was talking to a big burly guy yesterday after the X-men movie at a local theater. He was allowed to go to the movie, but had to report immediately back to prison. (Some official was coming to pick him up.) Their life is THAT good? Geessh!

-cwm

I think there is a difference between local,state and federal prison. My buddy's father was in a federal prison and the stuff they were allowed to have and do is like being in a halfway house. It is pretty much do whatever you want from 7am to 7pm and everyone that was in there with him where guys just like him. Old educated people in there for money laundering, some sort of embezzlement or a serious tax evasion. I'm not saying there are no murderers in a federal prison but it seems to be more educated people in federal prisons (from what he told me) who are less violent, so they get some luxury that state and local prisons dont.

I disagree, I've done time in prison, I HATED it, would rather be a free man ANY DAY

a reply to: onequestion

I imagine rape and or both physical and psychological torture would be the biggest cons especially in the America gaols.

Going down for any stretch is no joke, prison life is not exactly something one aspires to even if some do indeed become accustomed with incarceration.

a reply to: AnIntellectualRedneck

If anybody wants to see how bad it is, watch "Hard Times" on Nat Geo.

a reply to: onequestion

Hate to tell you this but: Not all prisons are created equal.

Here in the state of SC, unless you are a older inmate (started your time in one of the state prisons prior to the late 90s), you do not get paid to work.

If you were convicted of a non-violent crime (and that list is very short, believe me), you can earn "work credits) to help reduce the time you serve (with "good behavior" it comes down to only having o to do 60% of the time you have to serve, so like a 5 year sentence is reduced down to just over 2.5 years).
If you're a violent offender (and that's ANY drug related sentence), you'll do at least 85%. No "work credits"

Most inmates do the work just to make the time go by.

There are camps that do not even have a fence around it (work camps and work release camps), and then level 3's with lots and lots of razor wire fences around them.

Not all camps have air conditioning either (hello sweltering summer heat).

TV? You get to watch whatever is on 3 or 4 TV's in the day rooms.

Food? I saw boxes marked "Unfit For Human Consumption"......hows that grab you?

Health care? Yes. The state is responsible for your health, so if you get hurt, sick, etc, you will be taken care of, else the state can be sued.

You are limited to what you can or can not have in your locker. For example: you are not allowed to have more than one photo album, and it must have been bought from the canteen. You may not increase the size of the photo album. You may not have more than a certain number of items allowed in your locker bought from the canteen (for example, you may not have more than a certain number of cup of soups, cigs, etc), else you will be charged with "running a canteen" from your locker.

Gyms? What gyms?

You must keep your hair cut, no beards unless you have special permission, etc. At all the camps you have to be counted, and you'd better be where you are suppose to be when count goes down. The amount of counts depends on the type of camps. Work camps: about every 2 hours. Level 2 or 3 camps, more like 3 or 4 times a day.

Failure to comply with any of these rules will have to sent to SMU (Special Management Unit), AKA Lockup. In which you are placed in a 6 x 9 cell, and kept there and will do that time you have day for day. If you are good while there, they will let you out in a cage that is also about 6 x 9, so you can pace back and forth.....just like animals at the zoo.

Speaking of animals, while in these places repairing electrical systems (locks, cameras, fire alarms, etc)....that is exactly how the inmates in SMU act. Things like screaming and yelling......saving a cup of urine so that they could throw it on a guard......or their own feces.

Yah....animals. But with good reason...that's how they are being treated. Treat someone like an animal long enough, and that's how they will act.

That's just the state prisons. County jails have their own rules....some better.....some worse.

Now....tell me again how prison is better than normal life?

It's not. At least not the prisons here in SC. Anyone that thinks otherwise is either deluded, never been to prison or..........has been locked up so long they are institutionalized (means you do not know how to function outside of prison in normal society anymore).

Interesting takes on incarceration here. The facilities I worked for were summer camps compared to some around the country. Third generation builds, so victimization (rape, etc.) was minimal.

Properly administered, prison doesn't have to be a nightmare. The key is to treat these men like human beings despite their offenses.

a reply to: onequestion

Many of the people getting out of the local prison here are put in transient housing so that they 're not homeless. Then they come right to human services and apply for food stamps, literally hours after being released from prison. They usually have someone advocating for them to get them signed up for low income housing. Many are entitled, and don't want to work. So I guess it's a horse apiece. Some know how to milk the system.