Would you rather be in prison or homeless?

reply to post by bates


Well you can't choose which prison you go to.
No prison is comfortable. Not that I've tried one out.
Having a criminal record isn't a very good plan either.
If you wanna get locked up with three square meals a day, threaten suicide and you will be taken to the psych ward. There are people who do that. Not that I recommend it but its a better plan than jail and you aren't hurting others.
If everybody did the jail plan, the jails would get overcrowded.

Given the choice I would rather be homeless and I think you would wish you stuck with that if you found yourself in a jail cell.

In all seriousness I would rather put a bullet in my head and move on to whatever comes next. Death is an inevitable fact of life we will all experience so I see no value in living a life full of misery and pain as any sort of an alternative to just getting there a little sooner.

reply to post by bates


I would want freedom .... The Brits need to take page out of the American play book and tell them, "give me liberty or give me death"

really, this will be worse than the feudalism when the hammer comes down....

reply to post by bates


I found the thread because I am faced with making this decition very soon. I am a 59 year old British citizen, and have been living in Italy for the last few years. In February I had open heart surgery and a pacemaker fitted. I am unable to continue paying for treatment (blood tests, meds etc) here as I am no longer fit enough to work. When I return to the UK, I will face the Habitual Residence Test, which I will fail and thus be denied access to benefits. Perhaps social services will help me because without the medication I have to take and restricted diet, my chances of having a stroke or heart attack rise to over 50% in a year. To my way of thinking the streets option is a death sentence, whereas prison as others have said is food, bed, shelter, and even work or study. I would be very much like to hear from someone who has had to make this choice.
P.S I think the UK prison life though # is not the same as the USA one.

I volunteer at a homeless charity in my town. The amount of young people who would rather be in prison is worrying, but understandable considering the alternative. . They get 3 meals a day, a roof over their heads, access to training schemes and a reasonable amount of safety.

In contrast they could be living in the cold, wet and wind. On the streets, with no guarantee of a meal or safety.