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My brother just went to jail and I’m just learning how crazy some things are there. They keep the bright lights on until midnight, and turn them back on at 4am

My brother just went to jail and I’m just learning how crazy some things are there. They keep the bright lights on until midnight, and turn them back on at 4am (and require the inmates to get up). No one can properly function after repeated nights of less than 4 hours of sleep. I seriously think the jail just wants to push people to misbehave so they stay there longer and the jail can reap more profits.

omegaworks 8y ago
>I seriously think the jail just wants to push people to misbehave so they stay there longer and the jail can reap more profits. Bingo. Private prisons have no incentive to reduce recidivism.
- wu-ikkyu 8y ago
  Why is this being downvoted? Jon Oliver did a bit a while back on private prisons. The investigation uncovered an investor sales pitch which bragged of "high recidivism rates"
  - maxerickson 8y ago
    Probably because it's unlikely the other poster is talking about a private prison. "Jail" often means a county operated facility and then at the state and federal level most prisoners are still held in publicly administered facilities.
  - cristoperb 8y ago
    The Jon Oliver episode on prison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY See also Shane Bauer's undercover report "My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard": https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-private-prisons-corrections-corporation-inmates-investigation-bauer/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-private-pri...
reaperducer 8y ago
They keep the bright lights on until midnight, and turn them back on at 4am (and require the inmates to get up). It's one of several measures to keep the inmates docile. See also: feeding them low-quality food, and only enough for survival. A hungry, sleep-deprived prisoner isn't going to revolt, and after release may think twice about going back.
- RIMR 8y ago
  Just because torture might work as a deterrent is absolutely no excuse. Sleep deprivation and malnourishment are forms of torture, and constitute human rights violations. It's supposed to be a correctional system. How are we supposed to reduce recidivism when the system is designed to destroy lives?
- almostdeadguy 8y ago
  You sound like a horrible person
  - sgslo 8y ago
    Why is that? Their post did not advocate for those conditions, nor is it likely that this is the person who originally instituted those conditions.
    - almostdeadguy 8y ago
      This person is claiming these things reduce recidivism, it's pretty clear what their position is
      - firic 8y ago
        Killing all prisoners will make recidivism 0. I think you can understand that just as I can. But I assume that we both agree that that is not a good solution.
  - dang 8y ago
    Personal attacks will get you banned here, regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are. Please don't post like this again. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

omegaworks 8y ago

>I seriously think the jail just wants to push people to misbehave so they stay there longer and the jail can reap more profits. Bingo. Private prisons have no incentive to reduce recidivism.

wu-ikkyu 8y ago
Why is this being downvoted? Jon Oliver did a bit a while back on private prisons. The investigation uncovered an investor sales pitch which bragged of "high recidivism rates"
- maxerickson 8y ago
  Probably because it's unlikely the other poster is talking about a private prison. "Jail" often means a county operated facility and then at the state and federal level most prisoners are still held in publicly administered facilities.
- cristoperb 8y ago
  The Jon Oliver episode on prison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY See also Shane Bauer's undercover report "My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard": https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-private-prisons-corrections-corporation-inmates-investigation-bauer/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-private-pri...

reaperducer 8y ago

They keep the bright lights on until midnight, and turn them back on at 4am (and require the inmates to get up). It's one of several measures to keep the inmates docile. See also: feeding them low-quality food, and only enough for survival. A hungry, sleep-deprived prisoner isn't going to revolt, and after release may think twice about going back.

RIMR 8y ago
Just because torture might work as a deterrent is absolutely no excuse. Sleep deprivation and malnourishment are forms of torture, and constitute human rights violations. It's supposed to be a correctional system. How are we supposed to reduce recidivism when the system is designed to destroy lives?
almostdeadguy 8y ago
You sound like a horrible person
- sgslo 8y ago
  Why is that? Their post did not advocate for those conditions, nor is it likely that this is the person who originally instituted those conditions.
  - almostdeadguy 8y ago
    This person is claiming these things reduce recidivism, it's pretty clear what their position is
    - firic 8y ago
      Killing all prisoners will make recidivism 0. I think you can understand that just as I can. But I assume that we both agree that that is not a good solution.
- dang 8y ago
  Personal attacks will get you banned here, regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are. Please don't post like this again. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html