I read another op-ed piece the other day on the evils of "coddling prisoners." Another thread here talks about making prisoners work (farming) to "earn their keep."
There is a lot of fundamental misunderstanding about Crime & Punishment, and it's not a difficult matter to understand when you think about it.
First of all, understand the difference between a JAIL and a PRISON. A JAIL is generally a holding place for people who have been ACCUSED of a crime, but not convicted. For one reason or another, they did not get out on bail, so they have to be kept someplace until their are tried and either acquitted or convicted. Technically speaking, JAIL is not a punishment, but rather it is simply a means of the State guaranteeing that an ACCUSED defendant shows up for trial. It can be converted, retroactively, to punishment when a judge gives a convicted defendant "credit for time served" in jail, but as a general proposition, jail is for the convenience of the State and not for the benefit of the jailee. JAILS are, due to their circumstances, not pleasant places to be, socially speaking. Since almost everyone there is transient (unlike in a prison), there is not the same concern with "getting along," with people whom you will have to live with over the long term. Thus there is a lot of taking advantage of people when the opportunity arises. And this can be unpleasant.
The very idea that the jailee should COMPENSATE the State (or the county) for the cost of holding him in jail is perverse in the extreme. He doesn't want to be there and he has been convicted of anything.
On the contrary, the State/county has an OBLIGATION to provide a tolerable - if not pleasant - habitation for jailees, and to the extent that they are hell-holes (which is often the case) the State/county is doing the jailee, and SOCIETY, a serious disservice. Ask any friend who has been wrongfully detained in a jail. Ask them why suicide is such a serious problem in jails - especially for those who are not guilty of any crime.
(Jails are also used to temporarily house prisoners who have been convicted, but that's another matter).
PRISONS, on the other hand are places where CONVICTS are housed over the long term.
People are not sent to prison TO BE PUNISHED. Being in prison is their punishment. They have to stay there, eat the food, obey the rules, and so on. THAT IS THEIR PUNISHMENT. To force them into involuntary labor while in prison would be compounding one punishment on top of another, which is not part of the picture. It MIGHT be appropriate as a punishment for infractions committed while in prison, but as a general proposition, PRISONERS should not be compelled to work, and should be compensated for any work that they are required to do, even if that work produces - let's say - home-grown vegetables to be served at the prison cafeteria.
The State owes prisoners a tolerable habitation, free of disease and filth, and free from victimization by their fellow prisoners and/or the guards, and with a humane level of medical care. They are entitled to edible food, clean clothing, a suitable amount of space, and as much privacy as is consistent with the security requirements of the institution (which may end up being no privacy at all, but that is subject to debate).
The State, in its own interest, may make available to prisoners various programs intended to bring about "rehabilitation," but these cannot be compulsory. It may also impose security procedures and rules as are necessary to maintain the integrity of the institution, and to prevent prisoners from victimizing themselves or each other.
But given these constraints, the State should be providing the most humane facilities and treatment possible. Remember, they are not sent to prison TO BE PUNISHED. Imprisonment is the punishment. No slave labor, no flogging, no piling on of punishments, except as they are the result of new infractions in the institution.
Have a nice day.
There is a lot of fundamental misunderstanding about Crime & Punishment, and it's not a difficult matter to understand when you think about it.
First of all, understand the difference between a JAIL and a PRISON. A JAIL is generally a holding place for people who have been ACCUSED of a crime, but not convicted. For one reason or another, they did not get out on bail, so they have to be kept someplace until their are tried and either acquitted or convicted. Technically speaking, JAIL is not a punishment, but rather it is simply a means of the State guaranteeing that an ACCUSED defendant shows up for trial. It can be converted, retroactively, to punishment when a judge gives a convicted defendant "credit for time served" in jail, but as a general proposition, jail is for the convenience of the State and not for the benefit of the jailee. JAILS are, due to their circumstances, not pleasant places to be, socially speaking. Since almost everyone there is transient (unlike in a prison), there is not the same concern with "getting along," with people whom you will have to live with over the long term. Thus there is a lot of taking advantage of people when the opportunity arises. And this can be unpleasant.
The very idea that the jailee should COMPENSATE the State (or the county) for the cost of holding him in jail is perverse in the extreme. He doesn't want to be there and he has been convicted of anything.
On the contrary, the State/county has an OBLIGATION to provide a tolerable - if not pleasant - habitation for jailees, and to the extent that they are hell-holes (which is often the case) the State/county is doing the jailee, and SOCIETY, a serious disservice. Ask any friend who has been wrongfully detained in a jail. Ask them why suicide is such a serious problem in jails - especially for those who are not guilty of any crime.
(Jails are also used to temporarily house prisoners who have been convicted, but that's another matter).
PRISONS, on the other hand are places where CONVICTS are housed over the long term.
People are not sent to prison TO BE PUNISHED. Being in prison is their punishment. They have to stay there, eat the food, obey the rules, and so on. THAT IS THEIR PUNISHMENT. To force them into involuntary labor while in prison would be compounding one punishment on top of another, which is not part of the picture. It MIGHT be appropriate as a punishment for infractions committed while in prison, but as a general proposition, PRISONERS should not be compelled to work, and should be compensated for any work that they are required to do, even if that work produces - let's say - home-grown vegetables to be served at the prison cafeteria.
The State owes prisoners a tolerable habitation, free of disease and filth, and free from victimization by their fellow prisoners and/or the guards, and with a humane level of medical care. They are entitled to edible food, clean clothing, a suitable amount of space, and as much privacy as is consistent with the security requirements of the institution (which may end up being no privacy at all, but that is subject to debate).
The State, in its own interest, may make available to prisoners various programs intended to bring about "rehabilitation," but these cannot be compulsory. It may also impose security procedures and rules as are necessary to maintain the integrity of the institution, and to prevent prisoners from victimizing themselves or each other.
But given these constraints, the State should be providing the most humane facilities and treatment possible. Remember, they are not sent to prison TO BE PUNISHED. Imprisonment is the punishment. No slave labor, no flogging, no piling on of punishments, except as they are the result of new infractions in the institution.
Have a nice day.
