Compliments to MikeWME and Gore Bane. Good comments.“FOR PROFIT” prisons offering shares on Wall Street are opening all over the country. The businesses supporting those prison, in conjunction with the prisons themselves is creating an economy that needs full prisons and political support to provide laws that keep those prisons full. This is a form of indenturing that is immoral and unethical and it creates another source of competition for law abiding Americans looking for jobs being done by these prisoners.^Prison is supposed to serve a very narrow set of purposes. For the most dangerous, it is to keep them away from communities where they would do great harm. For most, it is a firm spanking to warn that person that breaking laws has consequences. ^An ideal prison not only gives the inmate a place to SAFELY think about what they did wrong, but to learn how to avoid those behaviors in the future. Some prisons provide GED and Associate Degree online education opportunities. A local restaurant hires new cooks who learned to cook while in prison. We have too many laws that seem designed to keep the For Profit prisons stocked with manpower, laws that incarcerate non violent offenders. We also fail to protect those nonviolent people from the violent ones and many people go to prison and learn to become dangerous to society.^I don’t know if it is still the case, but years ago, I read that in the event of a major earthquake or other disaster, inmates at one high security prison were to be released to keep them from dying.If releasing Charles Manson during a disaster would make him a better human and willing to help a state dealing with 8.0 earthquake damage, that would be ok, but… really? Is releasing violent offenders the best plan in the event of a disaster?My compliments to all of the thoughtful and compassionate commentators above. Respectfully,C.
Compliments to MikeWME and Gore Bane. Good comments.“FOR PROFIT” prisons offering shares on Wall Street are opening all over the country. The businesses supporting those prison, in conjunction with the prisons themselves is creating an economy that needs full prisons and political support to provide laws that keep those prisons full. This is a form of indenturing that is immoral and unethical and it creates another source of competition for law abiding Americans looking for jobs being done by these prisoners.^Prison is supposed to serve a very narrow set of purposes. For the most dangerous, it is to keep them away from communities where they would do great harm. For most, it is a firm spanking to warn that person that breaking laws has consequences. ^An ideal prison not only gives the inmate a place to SAFELY think about what they did wrong, but to learn how to avoid those behaviors in the future. Some prisons provide GED and Associate Degree online education opportunities. A local restaurant hires new cooks who learned to cook while in prison. We have too many laws that seem designed to keep the For Profit prisons stocked with manpower, laws that incarcerate non violent offenders. We also fail to protect those nonviolent people from the violent ones and many people go to prison and learn to become dangerous to society.^I don’t know if it is still the case, but years ago, I read that in the event of a major earthquake or other disaster, inmates at one high security prison were to be released to keep them from dying.If releasing Charles Manson during a disaster would make him a better human and willing to help a state dealing with 8.0 earthquake damage, that would be ok, but… really? Is releasing violent offenders the best plan in the event of a disaster?My compliments to all of the thoughtful and compassionate commentators above. Respectfully,C.