The Issues, No. 38 - Prison

I think our country's prison/penitentiary/penal system has strayed a long way from what it should be. There no longer seems to be much penal in it and about all it seems to do is to temprorarily remove criminals from the rest of society.

For many criminals, prison life is the best life they have ever had. They get three meals a day, they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer, they have a bed to sleep on, they have free medical care, they can play ball and work out, they can go to the library and study or take classes, they can watch TV and play pool, and they can do any number of other things they couldn't do before prison.

It seems to me that convicted criminals, particularly convicted felons, by the nature of the crimes they have committed, have lost their rights and should be punished first and foremost and then, if possible, rehabilitated too. I don't think prison should be a nice place for them and I think prison should be so bad that prisoners will not want to return when their sentences are completed or they are paroled.

Prisoners should have to get up early and go to work all day doing something difficult and unpleasant; something that might even benefit the rest of society like operating a recycling facility, a landfill, or a dairy farm. I'm sure the powers that be could come up with lots of things they could do. I don't think prisoners should have TVs, basketball courts, pool tables or libraries, and I don't think they should have much time to interact with one another. Life in prison should be hard and unpleasant; it should be punishment. And prison rules should be strictly enforced and violators dealt with swiftly and severely.

Rehabilitation should be some part of prison life also and should be mandatory. Classes could be offered at night to teach basic reading, writing, and math skills and classes could be offered in auto mechanics, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and any other trade. Mentally and emotionally unstable prisoners could attend individual or group therapy sessions. When the rehabilitation period is over, prisoners need to go back to their cells for lights out and bed with no TVs, cell phones, radios, or stereos. Prisoners don't need to be given any free time.

If you believe as I do that we need to reform our prison system and bring punishment back to prisons, you need to let your representatives know. Our prison system today is a joke and a mockery of justice as well as a complete waste of tax dollars. I believe the system can be changed to make prisons work for us rather than just a temporary dumping ground for our criminal element.