There are two schools of thought concerning the exact purpose of prison. There is the camp that says lock em up, dress them in funny colored underwear and put them in tents. Treat them like shit and they will fly right. Its the correctional equivalent of rubbing your dogs nose in his own shit to keep him from soiling the carpet. Anyone who has ever tried that method as a learning tool knows it just doesn’t work. A few times a year a news story will hit the air, Nancy Grace or Geraldo will tell the shocking story of a recently released convict who goes on a murderous rampage. The solution is to build more prisons and hand out harsher sentences. Unfortunately that dog just wont hunt.
The flip side of the coin says today’s criminals are products of their environment and are as much victim as offender. Locking them up isn’t the answer, they just need to be nurtured and given countless second chances. That’s a load of bull shit as well.
The truth is somewhere in the middle I think.
One of the first things you notice in any prison in America is all of the young guys. Doesn’t matter what racial or ethnic group you pick, the vast majority of them will be in their late teens to mid twenties. From the sleepy eyed saggin black kid to the hyper wired tatted up white ones, they all share one common characteristic, they don’t give a fuck. Something has taken place, some change in their wiring, they stopped caring about anything.
If you think this is going to be a rant on societies wrongs perpetrated upon its youth, you are wrong. If you think there’s reason to worry about the finished product being churned out of prisons today, you are right . There was a time when you could walk out of prison with a trade or even a college degree. Today the best you can hope for is a GED . If you get on a work release program you might have a little seed money as well. A criminal record and a GED wont even get you a job in fast food. If you think that these guys are going to come out and do the right thing because its the right thing to do , you better think again.
There will always be a Cool Hand Luke type criminal. The ones you "Just Cant Reach" . The difference is that they wont be cutting the heads off of parking meters or getting in an egg eating contest. They will be snatching people out of their cars, robbing people in parking lots and invading their homes. And for those hard core predatory types locking them up and keeping them there is probably the only solution. But for every genuinely hard case there are a dozen kids who are teetering on the edge. They can go either way. If we just lock them up , put them in funny underpants and think that’s enough to set them straight, then we are seriously deluded .With no marketable legitimate skills and no education it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which way they will go. Until prisons offer these young guys the skills they need to excel on the outside I suggest everyone get better locks and sleep with one eye open. The one thing you can count on is that these guys will get out and are coming to a neighborhood near you.
Okay, I’m putting away my soap box.
With failed school systems like KCMO's, it just breeds shit like this. Only 1/10th of any KCMO High School GRADUATES (that could actually read and fill-out an application form) for my company, would go on to the interview process. Out of those, maybe 1/10th are applicants' worth hiring. Really sad...many of these kids have no future except maybe a "street death" or prison.
ReplyDeleteI always thought prison should be scary enough to give people second thoughts about getting there. In my youth I always heard about Siberia, cutting lumber in 40 below,uranium mines, etc. This would make you think twice about commiting crimes. When I see prisons with TVs, workout equipment and whatever else I can see how for some people it will not only not be scary but even attractive, so it fails as deterrent. I personaly don't believe in forced re-education.
ReplyDeleteJesus says, "I was in prison, and you visited me," and the good man said, "When did I ever visit you in prison?" and Jesus said, "when you did that for the least of my brothers, you did that for me."
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of paraphrasing.
I'm for extensive prison reform. If I were in charge, I'd lock up the boards of directors of all the private prison corporations, along with their stockholders, because they're all guilty of murder and violators of the Eighth Amendment.
I disagree with Meesha 100%. Our government should not be in the business of frightening people, our forefathers were explicitly clear about that. That was what was supposed to be one of the big differences between the USA and the USSR, and I don't think we should move closer to the "Siberian" model just because our present corrupt system isn't working.
I'm convinced that the key to realistic and progressive prison reform will lie in locking up many, many more politicians.
Oh, and thanks for sharing all this! I'm on the edge of my seat!
ReplyDeleteFollowed XO's lead over here. I think your prison topic will be unique and very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence concerning what the prison experience should be like. I think there are probably a lot of prisoners who are in for "petty crimes" who end up going really bad just from an awful prison experience. On the other hand, I'm not into coddling prisoners or providing them benefits free, law abiding people can't get without mortgaging the ranch either.
Your insight will be interesting. I'm sure not an expert (thankfully) but I would expect there are big differences from prison to prison. BTW, I grew up near Rochester...bout 80 miles away.
Wow.. look at all the readers your attracting. I think your on to something. I think you are right.. most people want to know.. but don't want to be the one to ask about any of it.
ReplyDelete