Prison, the political football that politicians love to pretend they understand.

[Remodeling Maidiac]

As an ex prisoner myself I can attest to the FACT that government run prisons (DOC) do little to nothing to help inmates better themselves. 23 hours a day is spent in your cell unless you have some type of prison function detail like kitchen or laundry. There were (for me) some very basic programs that I could participate in like GED or substance abuse programs but VERY LITTLE in the way of rehabilitation and preparation for life outside the walls.

I see MANY on this board who decry the private prison industry as part of the problem but in fact it is the government institutions that do little to nothing to help men become prosperous citizens and ensure they don't commit further crimes against YOU.

Upon release I got 100 bucks and was booted out the door. Wasn't even offered a bus ticket and the prison was hundreds of miles from "home"

If you want a bit more knowledge on the subject watch this video and try to become informed rather than spouting the current hipster position.

 

[candycorn]

Up until November 30+ state prison systems were run by republicans.

I wonder how we will manage to blame the democrats for this?

 

[deanrd]

There is a very good chance that many Republicans, including Trump, are going to get a very close look at our prison system.

 

[The Professor]

As an ex prisoner myself I can attest to the FACT that government run prisons (DOC) do little to nothing to help inmates better themselves. 23 hours a day is spent in your cell unless you have some type of prison function detail like kitchen or laundry. There were (for me) some very basic programs that I could participate in like GED or substance abuse programs but VERY LITTLE in the way of rehabilitation and preparation for life outside the walls.

I see MANY on this board who decry the private prison industry as part of the problem but in fact it is the government institutions that do little to nothing to help men become prosperous citizens and ensure they don't commit further crimes against YOU.

Upon release I got 100 bucks and was booted out the door. Wasn't even offered a bus ticket and the prison was hundreds of miles from "home"

If you want a bit more knowledge on the subject watch this video and try to become informed rather than spouting the current hipster position.

I watched the entire video, Grampa. I don't know if this particular prison is representative of all privately owned prisons; however, if it is then government prisons need to reform or go out of business. The simple fact that this prison gets results proves that there is a much more successful approach to housing inmates. If this prison can do it, the question is: why can't others duplicate the results.

I did some time in the county jail a long time ago (over 60 years). The charges were baseless and were eventually dropped but unfortunately I could not find an attorney willing to file a lawsuit for false arrest. Every lawyer I talked to said they were on good speaking terms with the DA and didn't want to jeopardize their status. This is one of the reasons I became a lawyer. The treatment of prisoners back then was horrendous and my more recent experience with incarcerated clients showed me that very little has changed.

I know there are some prisons that offer comfortable accommodations and ample opportunities for personal development; however, these institutions are reserved for the elite law breakers.

The poorer folks don't have it as well. There are jails without dining areas and prisoners eat in their cells. One of the most disgusting things in life is to be eating your meal while your cellmate is taking a crap in plain site a mere 4-5 feet away from you. There is no excuse for this humiliation and degradation.

CONCLUSION: Not all government run prisons are terrible, but far too many are. I believe that one of the true measures of success is the recidivism rate and the private prison under review has had much greater success than most government institutions. There are other considerations, the greatest of which is the unfettered right of every man – including those charged and even convicted of crimes – to be treated humanely.

PS: I have a problem calling you Grampa since you are a mere child of 50 and I am 79. Thanks for the video.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

As an ex prisoner myself I can attest to the FACT that government run prisons (DOC) do little to nothing to help inmates better themselves. 23 hours a day is spent in your cell unless you have some type of prison function detail like kitchen or laundry. There were (for me) some very basic programs that I could participate in like GED or substance abuse programs but VERY LITTLE in the way of rehabilitation and preparation for life outside the walls.

I see MANY on this board who decry the private prison industry as part of the problem but in fact it is the government institutions that do little to nothing to help men become prosperous citizens and ensure they don't commit further crimes against YOU.

Upon release I got 100 bucks and was booted out the door. Wasn't even offered a bus ticket and the prison was hundreds of miles from "home"

If you want a bit more knowledge on the subject watch this video and try to become informed rather than spouting the current hipster position.

I watched the entire video, Grampa. I don't know if this particular prison is representative of all privately owned prisons; however, if it is then government prisons need to reform or go out of business. The simple fact that this prison gets results proves that there is a much more successful approach to housing inmates. If this prison can do it, the question is: why can't others duplicate the results.

I did some time in the county jail a long time ago (over 60 years). The charges were baseless and were eventually dropped but unfortunately I could not find an attorney willing to file a lawsuit for false arrest. Every lawyer I talked to said they were on good speaking terms with the DA and didn't want to jeopardize their status. This is one of the reasons I became a lawyer. The treatment of prisoners back then was horrendous and my more recent experience with incarcerated clients showed me that very little has changed.

I know there are some prisons that offer comfortable accommodations and ample opportunities for personal development; however, these institutions are reserved for the elite law breakers.

The poorer folks don't have it as well. There are jails without dining areas and prisoners eat in their cells. One of the most disgusting things in life is to be eating your meal while your cellmate is taking a crap in plain site a mere 4-5 feet away from you. There is no excuse for this humiliation and degradation.

CONCLUSION: Not all government run prisons are terrible, but far too many are. I believe that one of the true measures of success is the recidivism rate and the private prison under review has had much greater success than most government institutions. There are other considerations, the greatest of which is the unfettered right of every man – including those charged and even convicted of crimes – to be treated humanely.

PS: I have a problem calling you Grampa since you are a mere child of 50 and I am 79. Thanks for the video.

I think a lot of the problem is that most government prisons were built so long ago that their only intent was to house inmates. They simply don't have the infrastructure or space to do what these newer, private prisons are doing. The facility I was in (Hutchinson State Penitentiary) for instance was built in the 1800's. It consisted of nothing but cellblocks in a sunflower configuration. And it was supposedly near double occupancy for my entire time there. Our only opportunity to "learn" a possible career was to build out buildings that the prison then sold to the public. Sixty five cents per day was our compensation and that was the top pay in the prison.
Most of the guards were complete assholes with huge egos.
Medical care was a complete joke and what little was offered was hard to get access to in a timely fashion.
Inmates were desperate to transfer but very few were successful.

The newer facilities are or were built with different ideas and opportunities in mind.

Like you said I understand that the two facilities in the video are not representative of all prisons obviously, but they demonstrate that there is a different method to dealing with criminals that can have far better outcomes for everyone.


PS. My name was created for playing video games with my grandkids and it just kinda stuck lol