4 ms·

They're in jail - not a vacation.

by sergiotapia 9y ago

mark_edward 9y ago
Do you think petty cruelty towards prisoners makes society safer and reduces recidivism?
- emodendroket 9y ago
  I think for many people (not sure about the OP in particular) that's beside the point, because the goal is pure punishment rather than rehabilitation.
SeanBoocock 9y ago
Sure and restricting prisoners' freedom is distinction enough such that no one would confuse the two. If prison is meant to have a correctional role, to rehabilitate people and prepare them to reenter society successfully, it needs to be more than a building to house people organized around capricious rules that infantilize the population.
Broken_Hippo 9y ago
And? People realize they are in prison by the sheer lack of freedom of self. Does that somehow mean that we need to punish them for years and years after their sentence? Do we need to give folks psychological disorders or make them suffer physically as well? Who would you rather have as your neighbor: A person in a human prison that has had the help they need, including a push towards becoming a good neighbor - or someone that has been mistreated, tortured, and/or made to be a slave (prison labor) for what could be years, and then punished so severely when they get out that they have trouble meeting their parole duties without resorting to illegal activities? I don't know about you, but I'd rather live next to the first. Most prisoners are future neighbors. Most are someone's family member. Wouldn't it be prudent to do what we can to make the person an upstanding member of society?
- usrusr 9y ago
  “But the former might stay your neighbor, whereas the latter will be back in soon, no worries" I fully agree with you, just filling in for the crazy side.
VyseofArcadia 9y ago
I would be in support of their treatment if it actually reduced recidivism, but punitive measures only work up to a certain point. Then recidivism starts going back up. Of course it also doesn't help how poorly we treat ex-prisoners once they've paid their debt to society. We need to dump our gut feelings on the subject of incarceration and craft policy based on evidence and effectiveness instead.

They're in jail - not a vacation.

mark_edward 9y ago

Do you think petty cruelty towards prisoners makes society safer and reduces recidivism?

emodendroket 9y ago
I think for many people (not sure about the OP in particular) that's beside the point, because the goal is pure punishment rather than rehabilitation.

SeanBoocock 9y ago

Sure and restricting prisoners' freedom is distinction enough such that no one would confuse the two. If prison is meant to have a correctional role, to rehabilitate people and prepare them to reenter society successfully, it needs to be more than a building to house people organized around capricious rules that infantilize the population.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago

And? People realize they are in prison by the sheer lack of freedom of self. Does that somehow mean that we need to punish them for years and years after their sentence? Do we need to give folks psychological disorders or make them suffer physically as well? Who would you rather have as your neighbor: A person in a human prison that has had the help they need, including a push towards becoming a good neighbor - or someone that has been mistreated, tortured, and/or made to be a slave (prison labor) for what could be years, and then punished so severely when they get out that they have trouble meeting their parole duties without resorting to illegal activities? I don't know about you, but I'd rather live next to the first. Most prisoners are future neighbors. Most are someone's family member. Wouldn't it be prudent to do what we can to make the person an upstanding member of society?

usrusr 9y ago
“But the former might stay your neighbor, whereas the latter will be back in soon, no worries" I fully agree with you, just filling in for the crazy side.

VyseofArcadia 9y ago

I would be in support of their treatment if it actually reduced recidivism, but punitive measures only work up to a certain point. Then recidivism starts going back up. Of course it also doesn't help how poorly we treat ex-prisoners once they've paid their debt to society. We need to dump our gut feelings on the subject of incarceration and craft policy based on evidence and effectiveness instead.