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I call prison "criminal university". It's just fucking stupid. We get a whole bunch of violent / profession criminals together so they can learn from each othe

I call prison "criminal university". It's just fucking stupid. We get a whole bunch of violent / profession criminals together so they can learn from each other and build their networks. Then brand them as criminals so they can't get a job when they come out, thus ensuring they reoffend. Oh and we incarcerate for non violent crimes, so entry level criminals have the opportunity to learn from the best and progress their career.

drdeadringer 10y ago
Is this similar to "go to the hospital to get sick"?
- xapata 10y ago
  Not quite. Society is still conflicted over whether prison is for punishment or rehabilitation. In the US, I think it trends mostly punishment with lip service to rehabilitation.
- whybroke 10y ago
  If you run the hospital poorly enough, that's exactly what happens.
  - gizmo686 10y ago
    "Poorly" seems a bit harsh. From a conceptual standpoint, hospitals are, in some sense, a terrible idea: why would you want to concentrate contagious individuals (let along concentrate them in proximity to people with unrelated sicknesses). The only reason we have hospitals is the only way we can afford to provide medical care to the population. According to the CDC, "On any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. " http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html
ythn 10y ago
I don't see how you can have a humane prison not be a criminal university. I mean, in the old days, they would just throw you in cell and leave you there for years. Your meals would come in through a slot in the door and you would poop and pee in a pot. No face-to-face interaction with other prisoners. No shared cells. No recreational time in open areas where you can form cliques. The only communication that happened between prisoners was via tapping or other coded acoustics. Allowing prisoners to interact face to face in open and closed environments is going to introduce these extra complexities of prisoners "poisoning" other prisoners.
- mmanfrin 10y ago
  It's not that socializing is the problem, it's that there is no enforcement -- your safety inside is guaranteed by nothing; so participation in a gang is inevitable as an outgrowth of the lack of safety.
- cma 10y ago
  Can you provide a source that in the "old days" all prison was solitary confinement?
  - yaur 10y ago
    Eastern State Penitentiary is considered the first "true penitentiary" Wikipedia[1] has pretty good coverage of its history, including starting with an all solitary system. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary
    - jmiserez 10y ago
      * in the US. We've certainly had prisons before 1829 elsewhere in the world.
      - paulddraper 10y ago
        Sure, there were prisons in ancient times too. I think the 1829 example may be more relevant.

drdeadringer 10y ago

Is this similar to "go to the hospital to get sick"?

xapata 10y ago
Not quite. Society is still conflicted over whether prison is for punishment or rehabilitation. In the US, I think it trends mostly punishment with lip service to rehabilitation.
whybroke 10y ago
If you run the hospital poorly enough, that's exactly what happens.
- gizmo686 10y ago
  "Poorly" seems a bit harsh. From a conceptual standpoint, hospitals are, in some sense, a terrible idea: why would you want to concentrate contagious individuals (let along concentrate them in proximity to people with unrelated sicknesses). The only reason we have hospitals is the only way we can afford to provide medical care to the population. According to the CDC, "On any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. " http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html

ythn 10y ago

I don't see how you can have a humane prison not be a criminal university. I mean, in the old days, they would just throw you in cell and leave you there for years. Your meals would come in through a slot in the door and you would poop and pee in a pot. No face-to-face interaction with other prisoners. No shared cells. No recreational time in open areas where you can form cliques. The only communication that happened between prisoners was via tapping or other coded acoustics. Allowing prisoners to interact face to face in open and closed environments is going to introduce these extra complexities of prisoners "poisoning" other prisoners.

mmanfrin 10y ago
It's not that socializing is the problem, it's that there is no enforcement -- your safety inside is guaranteed by nothing; so participation in a gang is inevitable as an outgrowth of the lack of safety.
cma 10y ago
Can you provide a source that in the "old days" all prison was solitary confinement?
- yaur 10y ago
  Eastern State Penitentiary is considered the first "true penitentiary" Wikipedia[1] has pretty good coverage of its history, including starting with an all solitary system. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary
  - jmiserez 10y ago
    * in the US. We've certainly had prisons before 1829 elsewhere in the world.
    - paulddraper 10y ago
      Sure, there were prisons in ancient times too. I think the 1829 example may be more relevant.