I don’t think I’d last long as a prison guard. As a super welterweight with toothpick arms, I lack both the strength and the jujitsu to intimidate really bad dudes into behaving themselves.
But are skull-cracking riot-crushers the proper model for correctional officers, the public servants with whom inmates have the most contact? Not if our goal is rehab, says Damion Williams, inmate #54374, in our latest missive from the South Dakota State Penitentiary:
Williams is serving twelve years for intentional damage to property, escape, and simple assault on law enforcement. His next parole review is September 1; absent earlier mercy, he’ll be back in the neighborhood in 2031. How well will his keepers prepare him for that return?
To begin with, what kind of nimrod CHOOSES to be in a prison every day?
If, as a free American, Damion’s predicament bothers you, search “What countries have the best prison systems?”
If you believe Damion is trying to manipulate your emotions to his own benefit, ignore him.
I care about what’s happening behind bars.
https://wakeup-world.com/2016/08/04/the-most-successful-prison-system-in-the-world-is-also-the-most-radically-humane/
Let’s see, who imprisons a higher percentage of it’s citizens than the United States?
Michael Moore’s movie Where to invade next has a segment on Norwegian prisons, also one on French school cafeterias, Portugal’s handling of a severe drug problem, Slovenia’s (or was it Slovakia’s) health care system and etc. But, dontcha know, we do everything better than anyone else in the world!!??
That’s why I volunteer at the Sioux Falls prison – some day most prisoners are going to walk out and become your neighbors, your co-workers, your servers; they will rejoin your family, your church, your association, your sports team. What do you want them to be? What do you want them to have learned in prison? I would prefer it if they had classes, treatment, and skills. I do Alternatives to Violence Project workshops and the Lifers’ Group. Please think about joining us, or another organization that helps inmates to be restored to wholeness.
Many years ago, the feature editor for the newspaper I worked for did an interview with a convict about how he went about doing criminal things. This caused some outrage from some of the readership who complained that the paper was providing lessons in criminality. To redeem the paper, the editor ran a bunch of stories from redeemed criminals. I got the assignment to go the state penitentiary to interview some long-timers in prison. I drew a burglar who was on his third and therefore a very long sentence. His critique was that, for him, prison was a graduate school in the craft of burglary. He was not inspired to reform as much as to improve his skills so he wouldn’t get caught. He thought the failure of prisons was that they provided a setting for prisoners to form their own society rather than intervening in ways that confronted the factors that made them turn to crime.
David, you’re exactly right. When there are no classes, training, workshops, etc., not to mention hope, what do they think inmates are going to do with their time?
I should say “factors that made or allowed them” to turn to crime.
Oh, pity the poor criminals who cry “woah is me” and write missives to Mr. H. Why, do you think, the criminals appeal to libbies with whining and crying instead of saying “I was wrong, I will stop being such a doofus, thank you.”
Why does Grudzilla deliberately ignore all the wrongful convictions that cost mostly POC decades of their lives behind bars? Why are prosecutors and jurors unaccountable for miscarrtiages of justice in these cases? Because he is a heartless compassionate conservative? Maybe released prisoners will steal his gravy taters.
Take a look at what they are doing with justice reinvestment in ND
Treating prisoners like humans, improving conditions inside corrections and improving rehabilitation programming, and providing support before and after release as well as for people on probation to prevent incarceration.
They realized it was better to spend money on this programming than on building additional prisons.
It hasn’t solved every problem but it is certainly giving a much better return on investment.