Texas kills fancy last meal requests on death row

[cornflake]

Are you serious? So, in your opinion, people who have gone to college should be above those who didn't? and people who have masters, their opinions should count more than both?



I see nothing wrong with LM3's statements. No, it's not SUPPOSED to be Club Med. There's no reason they should be sitting there watching tv in a nice, warm building, having sex with their nice, warm whatever. They don't need beds or pillows either. Jail isn't supposed to be comfy cozy. I say reopen Alcatraz and dump the violent ones and a 20 lb bag of rice and leave them there. Let them sort it out.

An educated opinion doesn't imply someone has a college degree, it indicates they're educated on the topic at hand.

 

[cornflake]

No. I would limit this to violent or chronic offenders. You harm someone, yup, time #3 in jail for the same thing, yup.

But there should still be no TV or other entertainment provided, good behavior earns you release on your date, bad behavior keeps you there longer. Learn a craft, a trade, get your GED, but YOU pay for it. Working at the prision to make credits buys you education. THAT is your entertainment and THAT is a payoff of good behavior as well.

Bad behaviour keeps you there longer than your sentence? Another one who wants to rewrite the justice system.

Do you know what people earn working in prison? It's pennies per hour. Hard to pay for an education on that.

Treating prisoners like crap and not facilitating their gaining education and job skills - that harms society. We have an insanely large prison population and the vast, vast majority of prisoners will be released. Making it harder for people to become educated, gain skills that would keep them from recidivist behaviours, treating people like sub-human animals, all of that guarantees people will come out of prison more likely to commit more and potentially worse crimes.

There are multiple rationales for societal response to crime - punishment is ONE of them, not all of them.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Bad behaviour keeps you there longer than your sentence? Another one who wants to rewrite the justice system.

Do you know what people earn working in prison? It's pennies per hour. Hard to pay for an education on that.

Treating prisoners like crap and not facilitating their gaining education and job skills - that harms society. We have an insanely large prison population and the vast, vast majority of prisoners will be released. Making it harder for people to become educated, gain skills that would keep them from recidivist behaviours, treating people like sub-human animals, all of that guarantees people will come out of prison more likely to commit more and potentially worse crimes.

There are multiple rationales for societal response to crime - punishment is ONE of them, not all of them.

Don't they already have a system where you get extra jail time for causing trouble? Because I could swear I've heard of that before.

"Not facilitating their gaining education and job skills", I think I mentioned that. It shouldn't be handed to them. They should have to work for just like the rest of us do. Why the hell should they get a free ride? Because they went to jail for breaking the law, that should equate free education?

Wahwahwah, I broked the law, edumacate me for free! I don't think so. They need to earn their education just like those of us who don't break the law. Not everyone who breaks the law needs more education, some of them just need a short walk down the hall.

 

[brunette8706]

Don't they already have a system where you get extra jail time for causing trouble? Because I could swear I've heard of that before.

"Not facilitating their gaining education and job skills", I think I mentioned that. It shouldn't be handed to them. They should have to work for just like the rest of us do. Why the hell should they get a free ride? Because they went to jail for breaking the law, that should equate free education?

Wahwahwah, I broked the law, edumacate me for free! I don't think so. They need to earn their education just like those of us who don't break the law. Not everyone who breaks the law needs more education, some of them just need a short walk down the hall.

*
EXACTLY!

With the economy the way it is right now, a lot of parents can't even afford to send their kids to college. But, we as TAXPAYERS are supposed to flip the bill for thieves, and murderers? I don't think so. They have done a heinous act and are detriment to society. They're in prison. What's next giving them hot dinners, and heavenly mattresses to make them more comfortable?

Further, I'm getting sick of the No Responsibility speil. Oh, he shot and killed his parents because he had a bad father, or he watched too many violent tv shows, or he was bullied in school. You know what life isn't fair. What ever happened to R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y? Stop MAKING EXCUSES for these thugs and yes murderers.

My .02 cents

 

[cornflake]

Don't they already have a system where you get extra jail time for causing trouble? Because I could swear I've heard of that before.

"Not facilitating their gaining education and job skills", I think I mentioned that. It shouldn't be handed to them. They should have to work for just like the rest of us do. Why the hell should they get a free ride? Because they went to jail for breaking the law, that should equate free education?

Wahwahwah, I broked the law, edumacate me for free! I don't think so. They need to earn their education just like those of us who don't break the law. Not everyone who breaks the law needs more education, some of them just need a short walk down the hall.

Someone can be charged and tried with further offenses but no we can't just keep people in prison past their sentences because they weren't nice or what have you, no.

Again, if they make $.12 an hour working in the prison (which is a benefit to taxpayers), how are they supposed to pay for schooling?

Besides which, if we're talking about people who haven't gotten out of high school, everyone in the country has a right to a free education. Most people with low incomes can get a free college education as well. I don't know where this 'we have to pay and they get everything free!!' thing comes from. You too can attend college for free, if you're poor enough.

Again, again, it BENEFITS society to educate prisoners. The goal is not just punishment, never has been, never will be - having punishment as the sole driver benefits nothing and no one; it's uncivilized, it's not exactly forward-thinking, it's not productive, it's going to bite the punishers in the butt in the end.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Someone can be charged and tried with further offenses but no we can't just keep people in prison past their sentences because they weren't nice or what have you, no.

Again, if they make $.12 an hour working in the prison (which is a benefit to taxpayers), how are they supposed to pay for schooling?

Besides which, if we're talking about people who haven't gotten out of high school, everyone in the country has a right to a free education. Most people with low incomes can get a free college education as well. I don't know where this 'we have to pay and they get everything free!!' thing comes from. You too can attend college for free, if you're poor enough.

Again, again, it BENEFITS society to educate prisoners. The goal is not just punishment, never has been, never will be - having punishment as the sole driver benefits nothing and no one; it's uncivilized, it's not exactly forward-thinking, it's not productive, it's going to bite the punishers in the butt in the end.

Of course not. Tho, I'm sure it would be nice to be able to use that. "HEY! You stop haulin' AJ up by his knickers or I'll add another 3 days to your sentence!!"

Frankly, it's already biting us in the ends. Conjugal visits produce sated, lazy prisoners and produce more miscreants in the making. They don't need it to survive. I'll hazard that having it too easy in prison has made more prisoners. Sorry, a free ride thru college shouldn't be a "benefit" of jail. Make 'em work for it. So many credits each day. You want good food? Work for it. You want schooling? Work for it. You want sex? Too damm bad, wait till you get out.

No honeybunny sex for YOU.

 

[cornflake]

Of course not. Tho, I'm sure it would be nice to be able to use that. "HEY! You stop haulin' AJ up by his knickers or I'll add another 3 days to your sentence!!"

Frankly, it's already biting us in the ends. Conjugal visits produce sated, lazy prisoners and produce more miscreants in the making. They don't need it to survive. I'll hazard that having it too easy in prison has made more prisoners. Sorry, a free ride thru college shouldn't be a "benefit" of jail. Make 'em work for it. So many credits each day. You want good food? Work for it. You want schooling? Work for it. You want sex? Too damm bad, wait till you get out.

No honeybunny sex for YOU.

Where do you get that about conjugal visits? That they "produce sated, lazy prisoners and ... more miscreants in the making"? I'd like to see that study.

Especially considering how few states have any kind of conjugal visits even possible.

If you hazard that having it "too easy" in prison, by which you seem to mean not sleeping on the floor and eating hot food, has made more prisoners, I'll hazard to guess that you haven't been inside a prison or talked to anyone who has.

 

[Disneyadore]

Civilized countries that have abolished capital punishment are:

Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome And Principe, Senegal, Serbia (including Kosovo), Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela.

Countries and territories that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes:

Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Botswana, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States Of America, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe


Many seasoned police officers and jail guards in civilized countries do NOT support the death penalty.

Well actually my country is trying to get death penalty back.
We have a nation wide scandal at this moment.

Look up the crimes of Marc Dutroux and his wife.
She lured girls into their car and her husband raped them,filmed them,rented them out,locked them up for months, finally killed them en buried therm in his back yard.


She is guilty as hell and got 30 years. But a we have such a mild and "civilized" justice climate, now after 15 years she is asking for her freedom because she has payed half the time and that means she can get free. Also she has "found God".

Now she will get shelter in a monastery only a few miles from my town.

So look at the picture of the beautiful victims.
Eight year old children locked up in a basement and starving to death.
While Dutroux was in prison for a few weeks she came into the house TO FEED HIS DOGS but she let the children starve.
Look again and tell me if this is civilization? Letting murderers free?

 

[Hannathy]

Again, if they make $.12 an hour working in the prison (which is a benefit to taxpayers), how are they supposed to pay for schooling?

.

here's a novel idea Don't break the law!! How's that for starters.


At the hospital when prisoners were admitted we had to open the admission kits and take out the patient rights brochure and we always said it was because the prisoners had more rights than everyone else!!!

I have another novel idea you get sentenced for 30 years you do 30 years! It makes me sick how well we treat evil, sick creatures in our prisons.

 

[cornflake]

here's a novel idea Don't break the law!! How's that for starters.


At the hospital when prisoners were admitted we had to open the admission kits and take out the patient rights brochure and we always said it was because the prisoners had more rights than everyone else!!!

I have another novel idea you get sentenced for 30 years you do 30 years! It makes me sick how well we treat evil, sick creatures in our prisons.

Great, except we're talking about people who've already been sentenced, so that ship has sailed. In reality....

How do they have more rights?

For all the 'serve the entire sentence' people - in the realm of reality, where are you going to put them? We already have too few prisons. People don't want prisons near them; you're mad about the cost to house them so... what is the real-life solution to this?

As for "sick, evil creatures" AGAIN, most prisoners are non-violent or drug offenders. Sick and evil creatures? Really?

Look again and tell me if this is civilization? Letting murderers free?

No one is talking about letting people such as you've described free. There's a biiiig middle ground between 'let them out in a dozen years' and 'fry 'em all.' The middle ground includes the sentence of life without parole. It includes supermax facilities. There's middle ground.

Everyone in prison shouldn't be locked away for life. Everyone in prison ISN'T going to be locked away for life. We have to find a real way to deal with people that isn't 'treat them worse than dogs because they stole or got addicted to drugs and they should've known better, oh well, who cares if they remain uneducated, addicted and are being put back on the street?'

 

[Disneyadore]

No one is talking about letting people such as you've described free. There's a biiiig middle ground between 'let them out in a dozen years' and 'fry 'em all.' The middle ground includes the sentence of life without parole. It includes supermax facilities. There's middle ground.

Everyone in prison shouldn't be locked away for life. Everyone in prison ISN'T going to be locked away for life. We have to find a real way to deal with people that isn't 'treat them worse than dogs because they stole or got addicted to drugs and they should've known better, oh well, who cares if they remain uneducated, addicted and are being put back on the street?'

Once you start seeing perpetrators as victims the whole justice system will run down hill as fast as an avalanche.

You can not pick and chose. Once you give the power to "Gutmenschen" in society this is what you get.

 

[cornflake]

Once you start seeing perpetrators as victims the whole justice system will run down hill as fast as an avalanche.

You can not pick and chose. Once you give the power to "Gutmenschen" in society this is what you get.

Where do you get "seeing perpetrators as victims" from?

 

[Disneyadore]

Where do you get "seeing perpetrators as victims" from?

In our justice system. Once we gave in to "criminals deserve a chance and again and again " we now ended whit child rapers having the right to watch child porn on internet or DVD.
Been there and saw what happened.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Of course not. Tho, I'm sure it would be nice to be able to use that. "HEY! You stop haulin' AJ up by his knickers or I'll add another 3 days to your sentence!!"

Frankly, it's already biting us in the ends. Conjugal visits produce sated, lazy prisoners and produce more miscreants in the making. They don't need it to survive. I'll hazard that having it too easy in prison has made more prisoners. Sorry, a free ride thru college shouldn't be a "benefit" of jail. Make 'em work for it. So many credits each day. You want good food? Work for it. You want schooling? Work for it. You want sex? Too damm bad, wait till you get out.

No honeybunny sex for YOU.

Nice way to stereotype people you have a parent in jail, then the only place you are going to is jail. Secondly education is a good thing as it helps reduce recidivism (isnt that what is wanted) it also helps them get jobs after prison

Academic Education

Academic education usually is provided in the form of GED or literacy classes [1]. These free classes assist the prisoner in learning to read, write, and perform basic mathematical computations. This is especially important in a correctional setting because, compared to the general population, prisoners are an under-educated group – who maintain less than 5th grade proficiency in reading and writing [2] – coming from a culture of poverty, with few skills for handling everyday tasks, and little or no experience in a trade or career [3]. Hence, many require significant remedial help before they can attend more advanced educational classes [4]. The goal of these classes is to prepare the prisoner to take the official GED tests – the official high school diploma equivalent – and to hopefully further their education with more advanced studies. Other free basic forms of academic education, which are on the level of the GED courses or below, include English-as-a-Second Language classes and special education classes. Depending on the facility, one, none, or both will be offered.

After the student earns a GED, they are then usually offered the opportunity to further their education through in-prison programs. This continued education is coined Adult Continuing Education in the federal prison system and is also free to participants. These are courses which are led by inmate-instructors and encompass any number of topics. For example, at FCI-Petersburg, the Education Department offers Writing and Publishing, Personal Finance, Spanish, Basic Math, Legal Basics, and more.

Past this basic level of academic education is college education. While the most effective way to offer advanced college-level programs in prisons is to partner with local colleges and universities who are willing to send in teachers [5], this rarely happens because of funding and staffing concerns. Hence, the prisoners' best bet, in terms of an advanced academic education, is to enroll in college correspondence courses. These are courses from legitimate colleges which are delivered in a correspondence format. These courses are not free to the prisoner. The prisoner must find a way to pay for the courses up-front (e.g. through their own means or through family members or other organizations). College correspondence courses usually cost several hundred dollars apiece.
[edit] Vocational Training

Vocational training, on the other hand, offers more opportunities in the prison setting. Much of what is offered will depend upon the local prison's programming. For example, at FCI-Petersburg, inmates have the option to learn Computer Aided Design, Carpentry, and a number of other vocations via "live work" employments (e.g. plumbing, electricity, landscaping). All of these are free to the prisoner-participants.

Outside of the prison setting, the prisoner can usually enroll in vocational correspondence education. These include legal studies, mediation, religious studies, and much more. All costs and fees are the responsibility of the individual prisoner and usually run from several hundred dollars per course to several thousand per program of study. Vocational training via correspondence is almost exclusively less expensive than correspondence academic education.
[edit] Numbers and Costs

The United States has the largest prison population – by far – of any country in the world. With an incarcerated population of 2.3 million and growing steadily every year, our nation, which represents 5% of the world's population, houses 25% of the incarcerated population of the entire world [6]. This equals 1 in every 100 American adults in prison and 1 in every 31 American adults in prison or on probation or parole [7].

According to the Pew report, "Between 1973 and 2009, the nation's prison population grew by 705 percent..." [8]. In the last two decades alone, "State spending on corrections quadrupled..." [9]. This alarming growth translates into spending $30.1 billion each year to build more prison facilities to house the bulging prison populace [10]. Another study notes that over the past two decades, state and federal spending on corrections increased 305% to a total of about $52 billion each year [11]. While these numbers fluctuate slightly based upon their methodology and time-frame, any of them should be considered a complete failure in American corrections.

Furthermore, it costs $2,000 to $3,782 to provide a college education to an incarcerated student, compared to $32,000 to $40,000 per year to incarcerate the same individual. This shows that it costs ten times less to prevent crime through education than to imprison offenders [12][13]. While these numbers are astronomical, another study found "One million dollars spent on correctional education prevents about 600 crimes, while that same money invested in incarceration prevents 350 crimes. Correctional education is almost twice as cost-effective as a crime control policy" [14]. If only the American public would open their minds, they would see that educating prisoners is in their fiscal best interest.
[edit] Reductions in Recidivism

As of March 2011, the Pew Center on the States reported that the three-year recidivism rate for released prisoners, on average, is 43.3% [15]. In another highly-regarded study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the recidivism rate was reported to be 51.8% per three-year period following release [16]. This means that 43.3%-51.8% of prisoners, on a national scale, will be rearrested and re-incarcerated within three years of release. This is in direct contrast with those who received an education while behind bars [17][18][19][20][21][22].

Prisoners that attain an AA degree recidivate at a rate of 13.7%, while those with a Bachelor's degree recidivate at a rate of 5.6%, and those with a Master's degree recidivate at a rate of 0% [23]! With such monumental reductions in recidivism – through comparatively inexpensive means – college-level education becomes the common sense answer to the cost of corrections and our nation's astronomical recidivism rate.
[edit] Personal Development

Perhaps the strongest argument for educating prisoners is in the change that may occur in prisoners who receive an education. To those afforded the opportunity to further their education, it "may be the first glimmer of hope that [they] can escape the cycles of poverty and violence that have dominated their lives" [24]. Pursuing an education can also undo some of the damage accrued during their stay in prison; it can awaken senses numbed and release creativity that is both therapeutic and rehabilitative [25].

With good skills and education – solid vocational training at the very least or, even better, an advanced degree – released -prisoners can overcome a prison record. In fact – and this is the good news – 75% of college-educated ex-prisoners are able to surmount the stigma of their criminal record to find stable employment [26]. This is a big step in the direction of getting out of prison and staying out. It is also a step towards making amends to society through law-abiding citizenship, productive work, and paying taxes.
[edit] Conclusion

Prison education is a controversial topic. On one side of the issue are the feelings of the American public, feelings which question why a prisoner should receive an education while they have to pay for their kids' education and their own. On the other side is hard scientific evidence. It is a proven fact that education reduces recidivism. This has been thoroughly cited throughout this paper. In the end, the American people will have to make a decision: continue to pay for the increasing number of prisoners through more taxes and reduced funding for other social institutions or educate the nation's prisoners to reduce recidivism rates.
What about programs like the cell dog program? they not only help the prisoners but also stop dogs being put down.

It's happening all over the USA: prison inmates receive training to, in turn, train dogs from animal shelters. The prisoners learn a joy, a compassion and a responsibility that can come only from raising and training a dog, as well as skills that can help them find a job. The dog becomes adoptable. Some lucky family gets to adopt a well-trained dog that, just a few weeks before, would have been put to death merely for being unwanted. OR, the dog is trained especially for security jobs (drug sniffing, bomb sniffing at airports, etc.).

 

[PeterPan09]

Take a look at The Innocence Project's information.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/


Sure there is no giving back to these exonerees the years they lost and the injustices they suffered. But at least they are now free. And these cases are just the tip of the iceberg, the resourses to do more are just not there.

On top of the innocent incorrectly sentenced, think about all the guilty people still out there because of flaws in the criminal justice system. When an innocent person is convicted, the guilty one is still out there.

This is my problem with the death penalty.

I'll be honest, I'm uncomfortable with the taking of a life. I have a living will, and I don't have an issue there-but I fall on the "life" side of other choices. Now, having said that-I'm not trying to overturn any laws. Trying not to step on too many sensitive issues or get political here (which is not easy at 7:30 am), but there are things that society has chosen to accept that I don't accept personally. The death penalty is one of them.

I would live easier with the death penalty if some work was done on our justice system to make the mistakes that groups like the Innocence Project have found a thing of the past. I'll probably never be totally comfortable with it personally, but that's part of living in society. I'm not going to agree with everything. All I can do is make my own choices personally that align with my values.

 

[Nancyg56]

Eveyone is allowed to have an opinion but the educated ones should count more than the "um, ok" ones (in my opinion).

I bet that you think that voting here in the USA should be a privilege reserved for "educated" folks.

Nice way to stereotype people you have a parent in jail, then the only place you are going to is jail. Secondly education is a good thing as it helps reduce recidivism (isnt that what is wanted) it also helps them get jobs after prison


What about programs like the cell dog program? they not only help the prisoners but also stop dogs being put down.

It's happening all over the USA: prison inmates receive training to, in turn, train dogs from animal shelters. The prisoners learn a joy, a compassion and a responsibility that can come only from raising and training a dog, as well as skills that can help them find a job. The dog becomes adoptable. Some lucky family gets to adopt a well-trained dog that, just a few weeks before, would have been put to death merely for being unwanted. OR, the dog is trained especially for security jobs (drug sniffing, bomb sniffing at airports, etc.).

I am aware of he positive results that education has on the prison population. i also believe that the cell dog program is a good one. I have to say that in this country education should not be reserved for those who break the law though. If we, as a society, believe that education and vocational training elevate the prison population, (and I honestly do believe that) then how can we refuse to educate and train all Americans? Do we wait for someone to break the law before we determine that we need to provide adequate education in order to ensure that person is given the opportunity to succeed?

And how do we explain the long term effects of a welfare society for those who remain untrained? Taxpayers pay the lion's share of expenses for those who are underemployed due to lack of education or vocational training.This is the crux of the problem IMO. We ask that law abiding people pay for "perks" that may be perceived as rewards for breaking the law. These same people are not provided with the same opportunities unless we pay for them. That is a real problem.

I also believe that there is a vast difference between allowing a person who is jailed for minor offenses the opportunity to make positive changes ion their lives in order to ensure success when they are released and providing comfort to those individuals who have wreaked havoc on our society.

I have a very hard time accepting that people who have committed grievous crimes are living in conditions that some law abiding citizens are not enjoying. I understand that prison is not luxurious but it is not supposed to be. It is supposed to be punitive so cable TV, weight rooms and gyms, access to law books so that one may have 103 lawsuits against the State ( yes, it is true), several attorneys in order to make sure justice is done, all those extras be removed.

We started discussing extravagant last meal requests that are now denied. I believe that the last meal is just one aspect of the real issue Americans have with death row criminals. The meal itself may be a little thing but it is perhaps the one area that is a tangible way to we can see that a reward is removed removed for the crimes committed. Many of us resent that the victims continue to pay for crimes long after the criminals either get on with their lives one way or another.

 

[hambirg]

This is my problem with the death penalty.

I'll be honest, I'm uncomfortable with the taking of a life. I have a living will, and I don't have an issue there-but I fall on the "life" side of other choices. Now, having said that-I'm not trying to overturn any laws. Trying not to step on too many sensitive issues or get political here (which is not easy at 7:30 am), but there are things that society has chosen to accept that I don't accept personally. The death penalty is one of them.

I would live easier with the death penalty if some work was done on our justice system to make the mistakes that groups like the Innocence Project have found a thing of the past. I'll probably never be totally comfortable with it personally, but that's part of living in society. I'm not going to agree with everything. All I can do is make my own choices personally that align with my values.

I used to support the death penalty, but the older I get. . .I just can't anymore.

It's the thought of state sanctioned death. Just say it out loud. . ."state sanctioned death." :shudder: It's a scary concept. Never mind the irony in that we kill someone, who has killed someone, to show that killing is wrong.

I think the only place I am still comfortable with it in some ways is with heinous serial killers. . .ie the Ted Bundys and Gary Ridgeways of the world. But even then, I'm beginning to think that life w/o parole is probably a crueler sentence.

 

[happygirl]

I don't get why prisoners need any sort of bonus. books to read or cigarettes or
conjugal vists or TV, Why can't they just sit in jail and think about how they can change for the better. People in jail are given so many perks it's almost a reward to go.

 

[Hannathy]

For all the 'serve the entire sentence' people - in the realm of reality, where are you going to put them? We already have too few prisons. People don't want prisons near them; you're mad about the cost to house them so... what is the real-life solution to this?

When a prison is set to be built there are bidding wars like crazy! Towns scramble to push their area for the prison, they want the jobs! I don't know where you live but the last prison built here had 5 towns fighting for the privilege.

I complain about the cost to house prisoners who have been sentenced to death! kill them, carry out their sentences. Don't keep them alive for 20 years. If we carried out all the Death sentences in a speedier manner then we would save a tremendous amount of money. Give them say 5 years tops for their appeals and be done with it.

I also complain about all the amenities they are given. Cut those costs, I have no problem spending money to keep serious offenders off the street, but treat them as offenders not at a sleep over camp.

 

[brunette8706]

Nice way to stereotype people you have a parent in jail, then the only place you are going to is jail. Secondly education is a good thing as it helps reduce recidivism (isnt that what is wanted) it also helps them get jobs after prison

Academic Education

Academic education usually is provided in the form of GED or literacy classes [1]. These free classes assist the prisoner in learning to read, write, and perform basic mathematical computations. This is especially important in a correctional setting because, compared to the general population, prisoners are an under-educated group – who maintain less than 5th grade proficiency in reading and writing [2] – coming from a culture of poverty, with few skills for handling everyday tasks, and little or no experience in a trade or career [3]. Hence, many require significant remedial help before they can attend more advanced educational classes [4]. The goal of these classes is to prepare the prisoner to take the official GED tests – the official high school diploma equivalent – and to hopefully further their education with more advanced studies. Other free basic forms of academic education, which are on the level of the GED courses or below, include English-as-a-Second Language classes and special education classes. Depending on the facility, one, none, or both will be offered.

After the student earns a GED, they are then usually offered the opportunity to further their education through in-prison programs. This continued education is coined Adult Continuing Education in the federal prison system and is also free to participants. These are courses which are led by inmate-instructors and encompass any number of topics. For example, at FCI-Petersburg, the Education Department offers Writing and Publishing, Personal Finance, Spanish, Basic Math, Legal Basics, and more.

Past this basic level of academic education is college education. While the most effective way to offer advanced college-level programs in prisons is to partner with local colleges and universities who are willing to send in teachers [5], this rarely happens because of funding and staffing concerns. Hence, the prisoners' best bet, in terms of an advanced academic education, is to enroll in college correspondence courses. These are courses from legitimate colleges which are delivered in a correspondence format. These courses are not free to the prisoner. The prisoner must find a way to pay for the courses up-front (e.g. through their own means or through family members or other organizations). College correspondence courses usually cost several hundred dollars apiece.
[edit] Vocational Training

Vocational training, on the other hand, offers more opportunities in the prison setting. Much of what is offered will depend upon the local prison's programming. For example, at FCI-Petersburg, inmates have the option to learn Computer Aided Design, Carpentry, and a number of other vocations via "live work" employments (e.g. plumbing, electricity, landscaping). All of these are free to the prisoner-participants.

Outside of the prison setting, the prisoner can usually enroll in vocational correspondence education. These include legal studies, mediation, religious studies, and much more. All costs and fees are the responsibility of the individual prisoner and usually run from several hundred dollars per course to several thousand per program of study. Vocational training via correspondence is almost exclusively less expensive than correspondence academic education.
[edit] Numbers and Costs

The United States has the largest prison population – by far – of any country in the world. With an incarcerated population of 2.3 million and growing steadily every year, our nation, which represents 5% of the world's population, houses 25% of the incarcerated population of the entire world [6]. This equals 1 in every 100 American adults in prison and 1 in every 31 American adults in prison or on probation or parole [7].

According to the Pew report, "Between 1973 and 2009, the nation's prison population grew by 705 percent..." [8]. In the last two decades alone, "State spending on corrections quadrupled..." [9]. This alarming growth translates into spending $30.1 billion each year to build more prison facilities to house the bulging prison populace [10]. Another study notes that over the past two decades, state and federal spending on corrections increased 305% to a total of about $52 billion each year [11]. While these numbers fluctuate slightly based upon their methodology and time-frame, any of them should be considered a complete failure in American corrections.

Furthermore, it costs $2,000 to $3,782 to provide a college education to an incarcerated student, compared to $32,000 to $40,000 per year to incarcerate the same individual. This shows that it costs ten times less to prevent crime through education than to imprison offenders [12][13]. While these numbers are astronomical, another study found "One million dollars spent on correctional education prevents about 600 crimes, while that same money invested in incarceration prevents 350 crimes. Correctional education is almost twice as cost-effective as a crime control policy" [14]. If only the American public would open their minds, they would see that educating prisoners is in their fiscal best interest.
[edit] Reductions in Recidivism

As of March 2011, the Pew Center on the States reported that the three-year recidivism rate for released prisoners, on average, is 43.3% [15]. In another highly-regarded study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the recidivism rate was reported to be 51.8% per three-year period following release [16]. This means that 43.3%-51.8% of prisoners, on a national scale, will be rearrested and re-incarcerated within three years of release. This is in direct contrast with those who received an education while behind bars [17][18][19][20][21][22].

Prisoners that attain an AA degree recidivate at a rate of 13.7%, while those with a Bachelor's degree recidivate at a rate of 5.6%, and those with a Master's degree recidivate at a rate of 0% [23]! With such monumental reductions in recidivism – through comparatively inexpensive means – college-level education becomes the common sense answer to the cost of corrections and our nation's astronomical recidivism rate.
[edit] Personal Development

Perhaps the strongest argument for educating prisoners is in the change that may occur in prisoners who receive an education. To those afforded the opportunity to further their education, it "may be the first glimmer of hope that [they] can escape the cycles of poverty and violence that have dominated their lives" [24]. Pursuing an education can also undo some of the damage accrued during their stay in prison; it can awaken senses numbed and release creativity that is both therapeutic and rehabilitative [25].

With good skills and education – solid vocational training at the very least or, even better, an advanced degree – released -prisoners can overcome a prison record. In fact – and this is the good news – 75% of college-educated ex-prisoners are able to surmount the stigma of their criminal record to find stable employment [26]. This is a big step in the direction of getting out of prison and staying out. It is also a step towards making amends to society through law-abiding citizenship, productive work, and paying taxes.
[edit] Conclusion

Prison education is a controversial topic. On one side of the issue are the feelings of the American public, feelings which question why a prisoner should receive an education while they have to pay for their kids' education and their own. On the other side is hard scientific evidence. It is a proven fact that education reduces recidivism. This has been thoroughly cited throughout this paper. In the end, the American people will have to make a decision: continue to pay for the increasing number of prisoners through more taxes and reduced funding for other social institutions or educate the nation's prisoners to reduce recidivism rates.
What about programs like the cell dog program? they not only help the prisoners but also stop dogs being put down.

It's happening all over the USA: prison inmates receive training to, in turn, train dogs from animal shelters. The prisoners learn a joy, a compassion and a responsibility that can come only from raising and training a dog, as well as skills that can help them find a job. The dog becomes adoptable. Some lucky family gets to adopt a well-trained dog that, just a few weeks before, would have been put to death merely for being unwanted. OR, the dog is trained especially for security jobs (drug sniffing, bomb sniffing at airports, etc.).

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Your above post is Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement. You need to provide a link!!