Do prisoners have to many freedoms, rights, priveleges?

What about those wrongly convicted?

well we dont know they are wrongly convicted yet so um take that up w/ their lawyer! sry

If you can afford a lawyer that is. I've seen a lot of people who were wronged by the system, people who were given incredible sentences for minor infractions. I hear people who have never been in jail think it's a great tax free cakewalk. From the people I've talked to it's not. America has more people in prison than any other nation in the world, and that's a sad example in a nation that claims to be the best in everything. Makes me laugh.

Should we starve them? Not let them brush their teeth or wipe their butts? Should we work them until they die?

Sounds a little harsh to me. All prisoners straight to solitary? I agree a lot of prisons give them a lot of leeway & privileges and I don't like to pay for them (weight rooms, cable TV, etc.) but I think the punishment should fit the crime.

There is "BIG" money in prisons. They are becoming privatized and part of the corporate world. This lady sounds like she would love to see the days of labor camps, the gulags. Scary, how some people spout off with out knowing what the inside of prison is like.

How about we just use the lethal injection as soon as the conviction comes in? To not provide basic human needs is ridiculous. Take away their fancy stuff and what not, but don't deny them their humanity.

interesting. I agree that they have too many privilages. I don't think they should automatically get cable or satellite. I don't think they should have other things that aren't necessary. Books, or some library access yes, non-fiction for education, or research. I don't know why they should have to be allowed so much else when most americans have to earn that themselves.

Some states they can get a college education paid for by the tax payers. Young people are turned down for college loans and prisoners get it free.

They actually ARE charged a rent fee, based on length of incarciration, and it's added onto court fees, or billed afterwards. Failure to pay results in going back.

Aside from that, while they are given a toothbrush and toothpaste, they often have to pay to get another toothbrush or toothpaste in the commissary. Anything they want to buy or need, they have to pay outrageously for (toothbrushes from the dollar store for $3-4 each, candy bars for $2, etc).

They are given many things that people OUT of jail can't afford, and I don't like that. I would love to get the healthcare they have, at the price they "pay". I'd love to have free cable, sure- but they usually have 1 tv for an entire cell block, and depending on the size of the cell block, it's not like they each get a turn to sit and watch thier favorite shows. In fact, most times, it's only allowed on for a small amount of time each day or week.

Work- well, they do. Who do you think does the laundry, cooks the food, cleans the jail, etc? Convicts. They work, and get paid a pittance of money (think pennies on the dollar, not minimum wage). That money goes first towards their "rent", then whatever is left over is put into their commissary account for spending.

The old joke about your license plate coming from a jail? They do, in many states. It's not at all jails, obviously, but quite a few have working factories of some sort on the property to work at, which provides things like license plates for a very low price to those who purchase them for their vehicles.

Birth control for prisoners... well, yes, they -shouldn't- be having sex. But, the sad truth is, many female inmates ARE in fact raped in prison- by the guards. It's not like they want to have birth control for the same sex. Most prisons do not house male and female convicts together, or even in the same buildings. It's not like they provide birth control to make sure two men aren't making babies.

Prisoners are not given porn. In fact, porn is considered an offense if you are found in possession- you can get solitary confinement for it, so don't think they're sitting around doing a circle jerk to the latest Jenna Jameson video.

doesn't long term solitary confinement cause serious psychological damage? i think your advocating a system that can't be implemented if you want to know the truth.

I think if you do the crime, you pay the time. They do absolutely make it to easy on the prisioners. Most of them when they get out, just end back there. The life is to easy in prison. If they had to work on the pea farms like in the fifties, grow what they ate. Prepare and salvage the rest for the winter. Wash and iron their own clothes, they wouldnt be so eager to land right back there again. They have free internet. I dont. they yes, get college degree free. I dont. If a person works and earns his living and lives a decent life, he usually dont end up in jail or prison.

With the replies that some of you gave, you should be ashamed. Wrongly accussed?! Human rights?! Talking about how the author can't spell and so on and so on...
Every one of you better wake up and smell the roses. If prison was harder or harsher and if they actually punished the wrong doers, then less people would be repeat offenders or commit the crimes in the first place.

Exactly how many years in prison did Ted Bundy spend? Too damn many! I am a Ted Bundy survivor!

Personally, I approve of what the Sheriff in AZ is doing. This is from truthorfiction.com:
Here, this is taken from truthorfiction.com:
"The Truth...
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a colorful and controversial character who has instituted severe policies at Phonex's Maricopa County Jail since taking office in 1993.
According to his bio on the Maricopa County Web site, he enjoys being known as "America's toughest sheriff."
He got nationwide attention when he established the Maricopa County tent city for inmates.
More than 2,000 prisoners live without smoking, coffee, pornographic magazines, movies and unrestricted television in all jails.
The eRumor says the meals cost less than 40 cents but the cost figure is actually less than 20 cents.
Arpaio has also instituted what he calls "Hard Knocks High", the only accredited high school in an American jail.
That, along with an anti-drug program, says Arpaio, has resulted in a high percentage of his inmates leaving jail without their addictions and few of them returning."

I live in Arizona and although Joe Arpaio has his detractors, he is admired by a majority of the population. He keeps getting re-elected because of his tough stand on how prisoners should be treated. The tent cities are a little bit harsh (those of you who have ever been to the Phoenix area in mid-summer know what I mean), but they seem to work ok. They work hard during the day and I've heard rumors that they have to wear pink underwear (not sure why, just something I heard). Anyway, I don't oppose Sheriff Joe, but I'm also not opposed to things like weight rooms and sports equipment, etc. because I think if the prisoners aren't given an outlet for their energies, things would be a lot worse for them as well as for the correctional officers. The thing that really chaps my hide is giving them free college courses when I struggle to find a way to send my own kids to college. I know they are trying to give them a chance to live a productive life after they are released and I understand the reasoning, but it still angers me that people who are committing crimes bad enough to land them in prison, not just jail time, are getting college degrees. THAT'S the one that I can't get on board with.

I think that a modification of your proposal may be more reasonable. Make the violent criminals who have been convicted of crimes like rape and murder and other crimes that have caused innocent victims, do their time in solitary or be otherwise restricted so that they can't gain "street cred" or cause violence while doing their time. There are an awful lot of prisoners who haven't committed such crimes and should be allowed some things beyond basic needs as long as they earn them with good behavior. Loss of basic freedoms as well as some rights once they get out are harsher than you may think. The punishment lasts longer than their sentances because they have lost whatever family, job, career, friends they may have had before they went in and will never likely be able to pick up where they left it. They will have to start all over again at whatever job is willing to hire an ex-con. I'm not saying that isn't how it should be, but believe me, that is a hard path to take for some of these people who committed lesser crimes and just did their time peacefully.

Essh..don't get me started..
"Don't do the crime if you aren't ready to do hard, miserable, depressing time!"

I tend to agree with that- it should not be inhuman but... I think some jails offer their inmates more perks..than I have ! Cable? Therapy ? College educations? Work out rooms and excercise programs? Free meals, and Clothes ( okay they a re orange..so what ?) Free medical and dental care? Bill them! When they get out, let them pay!Great idea!
Damn, I haven't had two days off in a row, in 6 years. Jail almost sounds like a vacation. I realize that's oversimplifying but...seriously. It should not be ...a scaled down hotel It should be sparse, uninviting and uninspiring . It's...jail...

If anyone really thinks prison is a cakewalk, volunteer to work inside and you'll change your mind and fast. I've done volunteer work in minimal and maximum prisons (the federal minimum security prison in Milan Michigan and the maximum security prison in Terre Haute Indiana.

I don't care if they gave me cable, a Ph.D. in microbiology, conjugal rights, etc. Prison is hell on earth.

I have to agree with you entirely. I am all about having mass death sentence day for all repeat drug offenders, murderers, pedophiles and other waste of oxygen type individuals.
I think they should get bare minimum food and water, no entertainment and locked in a cell pretty much all the time.
I guess I am republican in that aspect of my thinking LOL
If you don't want to suffer, don't be a moron and get thrown in jail.

Oh and the reason America has such a large prison population is because in other countries, you screw up, you pay with your life. American prisons are like hotels compared to some other countries jails.
And about letting them 'keep their humanity', they gave it up when they murdered or raped someone and landed themselves in prison.
When you lock a criminal up with other criminals, they don't "change their ways", they learn to be better criminals.

Prisons should be reserved for people who actually hurt other people -- not themselves. There are far too many people in there for things like drug offenses -- when pharmaceuticals actually kill more people than illegal drugs! We need major reform here. Let's punish real criminals in full proportion to the crime, but let the rest of us live the way we want to live. Definitely prisons are now a racket -- prisoners should get basic treatment, but no more than what we get. And restitution should play a greater part -- first to the victim, then to police and courts. I like the sheriff who puts his prisoners in tents (Joe Orpayo, or something like that). Thanks for posting this.

The problem with the drug offenders is the crime associated with the drugs. People do stupid things to get their drugs, and if they make their own like crystal meth, they risk endangering the area they are in. Several innocent people have been hurt in my local area by meth labs exploding.
So, I stand by the fact I think drug offenders should be punished as hard as other criminals. With maybe the exception of Pot, because well. . . it's a plant and its not explosive at least that I know of lol

People do stupid things when they're drunk too, Heather. And not everybody in jail raped or murdered somebody. I'm a Republican, but your words are more reminiscent of Nazi Germany than anything else. Have you ever, ever stepped foot inside a prison? Do you have ANY idea what you're talking about? Scaled down hotel my butt! If getting raped, hit, kicked and attacked on a regular basis is part of hotel stay...
I've done prison ministries. The people in there are people. Just like you, just like me. Any of us is just as capable in the correct circumstances of what they have done. I don't agree with them getting cable, but you know what, even that is SMALL compared to what they go through in prison. I'd love to see you spend a week in prinson and then see if you think it's like a vacation. Before you do though, make sure you sneak in some lubricant or you'll be awfully sore.

For all those folks who feel prisons are too lenient to grasp a real look at prisons whether state or federal please go visit a few. That sort of mentality is strictly from sound bites and warped information spread out. I challenge anyone who feels that a prisoner who is in lock up for something he or she has not done should take it up with their lawyer. Most have no real lawyer as few can pay the legal fees required and if you think court appointed attorneys are worthy you've got another thing coming. The majority of cases on dockets are pleaded out which saves the courts time but you have no idea how lousy this process is as far as presenting fairness. I suspect many feel this way as a result of a person being charged with a crime long before a court date. I was on a team from a church who visited prisons and the conditions at best are appalling. I fully agree with those who say if you do the crime be prepared to do the time but we have two distinct justice systems here. One for those who can pay for a real legal defense and the other for those who are poor and must relie on appointed attorneys. In that case you have little or nothing coming as far as justice is concerned. Think about it. You are driving home from work one day and are stopped by the police, arrested because your description matches that of someone who committed a crime. You must find bail money and an attorney to argue your case. If not chances are 'you' will be sentenced to prison time tho you have done nothing at all wrong. The real perpetrator is still free and you are locked up because you have no money for a real defense. No, this is not a movie or some nut trying to explain to you this is the reality we live with so it would behoove you to take a look at the system before casting such harsh comments. We have people creating excuses to not serve on juries yet yelling that some juries were unfair. We all have a responsibility in making sure our justice system works for all but it presently does not. the prison system feeds off the backs of poor people who ever you are. I have read transscripts of hearings which had horrible legal errors in them which allowed innocent folks to go to jail for no apparent reason other than they did not have competant or awake counsel. I am sure if you read some of the crap I have even without legal education your mind sets would change a bit. We have prosecutors who would just as readily charge you and convict you on anything to get public opinion off their backs though knowing the person was innocent. Another thought we ought to keep in mind is that by treating people like animals who are not serving a full life sentence at some point they are to be released. Tho they may have served their time we (many of us) treat them with such disdain they have difficulty in locating jobs and re-assimilating into society. Thus they get back into a criminal element even if they were not previous to their imprisonment.

Thank you, Spencer. I have a hard time believing the people who are so disdainful have ever set foot in a real prison. Their ignorance shows in their posts.

I agree that anyone that thinks that it is a cakewalk should go spend some time there. Imagine being cut off from your family, told when to eat, what to eat, having some crazy and hardened criminals as roommates....

they also get cable tv and internet!

"We buy them toothbrushes they turn them into weapons, we give them spoons to eat with, they turn them into weapons, we give them toliet paper to wipe their butts with they use it to write hit list on!"

Why do you suppose that happens? Do you suppose that if cable tv is cut off it will make the situation better or worse?

There are some here that think those of us who have not seen the inside of a prison are ...IGNORANT.
Ignorant for not knowing what the inside of a prison looks like ? Hmmmm.
(I keep repeating it, hoping it will make sense. But..no...it doesn't make any sense.
Unless it's a joke...and then ...it's really still not all that funny. Keep your day job!)

Let's see...the reason we might not know what the inside of a prison looks like..is...(read carefully ) ----we're decent , law abiding people!
What a concept!
No one should WANT to know..and they should avoid knowing...what it looks like in a prison. Scared straight classes do some prison tours...but they usually don't pick the better prisons. Additionally?....tales should be circulated about how horrid it is! Maybe, just maybe...it will deter a few of the less crazy potential felons.

Most of us have read "Les Miserable"...the tale of the starving man imprisoned for stealing bread to feed his family . Some of us saw "Shawshank Redemption" and cried. Let's get real...very, very few have been wrongfully incarcerated.. but..yes, it happens. You suggest that , "in case" some one is wrongfully imprisoned...we should be careful...and be sure that their time spent is not... horrible?
Oh.
OK.
...that makes perfect sense to me now...what was I thinking...
I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get out my skis in case it snows.
you know..that snowballs chance in _ _ _ _.

BTW ,and FYI.. I was defending others, as I HAVE seen the inside of several prisons. Rikers Island and Attica, to name but two. NO, not as a prisoner. As a visitor.

....and to answer a question asked much earlier in the comment thread...
Yes...work 'em, til they die. Why not? Work 'em 7 days a week. Why not ?
I know plenty of people who have to do that to pay their bills. PLENTY!
That's what most of the rest of us do...work until we die.
Is that inhuman? Who do we call? Osha, I guess…

Yes, Let them watch only the broadcast channels, like many of us, must do.
Let them eat mac and cheese and peanut butter for dinner . Many of us do that, too.
Let them cook and clean and do laundry. They should. We do.
Rape and assault...guess what? ..that happens to us...too!
If we are not careful enough when we cruise with friends... or if we go to the wrong neighborhood, late at night. We run that risk!
NEWSFLASH: Prisons are the quintessential wrong neighborhood!
The point ….AVOID EM.

( Quote, with spelling and grammatical errors, intact )
" The people in there are people. Just like you, just like me. Any of us is just as capable in the correct circumstances of what they have done. I don't agree with them getting cable, but you know what, even that is SMALL compared to what they go through in prison. I'd love to see you spend a week in prinson and then see if you think it's like a vacation. Before you do though, make sure you sneak in some lubricant or you'll be awfully sore. -Lacey K., Aug 20, 2007, 9:36am EDT
________________________________________________
Lacey,
You have no idea who I am. You have no idea, what I've been through. YOU think YOU KNOW all about prison, and people, because you counseled a few of them, who have had the "misfortune" of being incarcerated. I'm going to guess, you're young, altruistic and eager to have an impact on some small area of injustice , in this world. I commend you.... and I am not being sarcastic.
What I believe you fail to understand is, that MOST of the people you are defending, are not like me, or even you...at all. You just haven't figured that out yet. Of course, that is only my opinion.
Note , I said ..."most". I sincerely hope that you can liberate the true , few victims.
That is a noble cause.
Still, what you are saving them from, should be..austere and miserable. Sorry, but that is how prison should be. Not inhuman. Just ...misery.

As for lack of lubricant, well...been there , honey. Be grateful, you haven't. I don't wish it on you, or anyone.

Everyone is so worked up that I keep waiting for the gong to ring so I can see who is actually sitting in the respective corners. I have never believed that prison is the right answer. It was people like "US" who fought to take the torture element out of the environment as far as it has come. Should we reverse the accomplishments they achieved because the real focus has been missed. Do we want to prove to the bad guys that we can be just as clever and creative at exacting vengeance on them as they have managed to wreak havoc on society as effectively as they have managed so far.

I don't think that I am a do "gooder". But he who is without sin cast the first stone... How "bad" do we want to get to match the punishment to the horror of the crimes? That mentality only re-inforces what we all have come to see as a self-fulfilling prophecy. More wrong does not right anything. To me that is just a more subtle (and then not really form of temper tantrum or show of force and intimidation ... YOu name it. I may not have answers. But we still need to get a bit calm here.

Sorry you all. I did not mean to lecture anyone on what they should witness or how things should be done. Even for the worst of our criminals, I cringe to consider myself responsible for administering the lethal injection. But truth be told, every time someone dies on death row, we have all participated by default.

I do care about who I associate with. I don't want to come up again the Ted Bundy's of the world or Charles Mansons, or any of the others for that matter. Nobody protected me either. I know what is to grow up so afraid that I would bury the truth til it could be buried no longer without killing me.

I still had to find another approach to live with my conscience than intense hatred to come terms when the biggest criminal in my life died. I really had to somehow find a way to "let it go".
For those of you who want to continue the torture mentality, I understand that you want to retaliate; but for those of you who are not nursing those kinds of scarred memories.... What are we really advocating here.

Racism, Genocide more subtle forms of crimes, who will stand and decide how we punish? Some of your arguments had the same quality and feel to them as how Hitler respond to the superior race. For those of us who have ever experienced that mass hatred (regardless of the source--it always feels the same)

Are we all so free of things in our own histories, that we want to go charging after the other guys?

My Mom took to sleeping with a knife beside her bed at one point in her life. My only answer at that time was based of the laws of chance that the knife would slip and the wrong person still end up suffering.

For those of you who minister to the bad guys, I have to commend you.. The reality is usually centred on the fact that maybe nobody else really wants to get that close. Right? If we are truly humanitarians, we might just practice this concept until we really understand what is feeding our criminal minds. Yeah even those people still have to watch their backs; but somebody has to try. How long have we had prisons? Do they improve the atmosphere anywhere?

I didn't realize how deeply your conversations had affected me. I just feel so sad to read the arugments. If I am not mistaken, many of you would agree on many other subjects (if you weren't so riled up about this one).

And each of you has some bit of truth supporting the entire conversation; but how close are you to slinging mud here, if you read over the energy behind each of the posted comments and then the ones that will probably never be posted. I feel as if I am listening to my parents fighting--knowing they will never be able to look at the argument from any colloborative position. And it is that that seems sad.

Maybe I will just go back to my own respective corner and wait for the bell to gong, anyway.

Where do you get those things from about prison. More than half of them are not true.

If you think being pulled away from your family and eveyrone you love is a good thing then go for it.