Kitty Purr

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Luxury or necessity??

What are your thoughts on providing prisoners with Internet access, cable TV, magazine subscriptions and/or air conditioning?

posted by Mrs. B at 10:52 AM

10 Comments:

  • I think it sucks. I am a free citizen but I can't afford the internet, cable TV or magazine subscriptions. Air conditioning I can see providing them, but why should I pay taxes so they can live with better amenities than I can afford? I think it's a waste of our money which should be spent on fixing the overcrowding problem which sets convicted felons free just because there is no space (but that's a whole different topic). Whatever happened to READING??? They used to have prison libraries with DONATED books. Anybody ever see Shawshank Redemption? =o) Ok, so you caught me on a tangent. Sorry. -- L.T.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:07 AM  

  • I really feel that prisoners should be treated as such. There are many individuals and families in the U.S. that cant afford these luxuries and the fact that their tax dollars are going to pay for the prisoners to be able to enjoy them is deplorable. Basic TV is fine and it should be provided in a common area where what they are watching should be supervised. Air conditioning however is important because the guards and other members of the prison facility need to be kept comfortable, we
    wouldn't want to go to a job everyday without air conditioning so I don't necessarily see this as a perk for the prisoners. However not only should all of the extra perks for prisoners be stopped so should the frivolous lawsuits the prisoners are tying up our courts with. Prison should be the
    punishment it is. Now I do feel that prisoners should be allowed chances to better themselves such as access to educational materials and such as books and documentaries but having internet access and subscriptions to MAXIM does not fall into any categories of education that I'm aware of.

    And while I'm talking about prison I might as well just lay this out there. If we are going convict someone and sentence them to the death penalty canwe kill them in a more timely manner then 10 years? I mean come on their victim didn't get to bargain another 10 years out of their impending death
    now did they?


    EXAMPLES frivolous lawsuits from just one inmate:

    -- Suits By Harry Franklin, An Inmate In The Oregon State Penitentiary

    * Franklin claimed he was denied daily half-hour out-of-cell walks. The judge found this claim surprising, because in other filings Franklin alleged he was crippled.

    * He claimed prison guards abridged his "right to be supplied" with T- shirts, a claim which had previously been dismissed.

    * He claimed he did not receive "some unspecified medical treatment because an officer neglected to wake him from his afternoon nap,"causing him "mental frustration," which the judge learned meant "that someone got his dander up."

    * Franklin sued prison guards who he alleged "wear clopping heels on
    their boots, which causes plaintiff to feel he's in a Natsy [sic] prison camp."

    * He asserted that his right to free speech was violated because prison staff discliplined him "for commenting on a guard's allegedly out-of-wedlock birth."

    * He sought $3 million in damages for "mental frustration" he suffered when a Portland television station allegedly misidentified a "14 wheeler
    tractor and trailer rig" as an "18 wheeler."

    * Franklin launched constitutional challenges to Oregon statutes which
    denied felons the ability to be candidates for public office or to vote during their incarceration.

    * Franklin brought up some Oregon history in one of his claims. In
    1923, the D'Autermont boys robbed a train in the Sikiyou Mountains,
    killing several railroadmen. According to Franklin, since the incident, trains blew their whistles as they pass the penitentiary in the early
    morning hours, violating his "right to public piece [sic]." The judge found that "Even assuming the railroads do carry on such a heinouspractice, it would not violate one of Franklin's federally protected
    rights."

    * He sued "Ronal Regan and his constiuants [sic]" for $8.9 million for
    "violation of undue restraint" in connection with an Oregon seatbelt
    law. he believed the law was underinclusive because it did not apply to
    bicycles and horses as well as cars.

    * He complained that he lost sleep on three occasions because the penitentiary's steam heater pipes snap and pop, and that he endured "Harassment by Water" because the prison authority's over-watering of the prison yard in the summer made it difficult for him to find a dry place to lie down.

    * He claimed the pentitentiary's cleanliness rules violated his
    "constitutional right to accumulate an unlimited number of newspaper clippings."

    * Franklin was also a reformer, suing Oregon's governor, attorney
    general, legislators, and judges for failing "to pass Legislation which would keep our System such as The Courts, &/or Jails from being so corrupt."

    * He complained that the penitentiary food service bakes desserts in aluminum rather than stainless steel pans, and that he could not eat from aluminum pans because the "scrapings" from the pans would "settle in [his] Human Joints."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:09 PM  

  • Okay, this has been a topic of conversation in our house since in Let it Out a few weeks ago this woman wrote in and said that her son is in prison here in Indiana and there is no air conditioning.

    So here are my thoughts:

    I do not believe that they should be allowed to have magazines, cable, television, and/or access to the education system for free. I worked my butt off to get the education that I have and someone in prison can obtain a college degree for FREE, that is right FREE just b/c they did a crime. Well, I wish I would have known that back then (Just kidding). Recently an inmate filed a lawsuit against the State of Indiana b/c he could not get porn magazines. What is this a 5 star Conrad hotel? They did a crime for goodness sakes, treat them like one. Jason said that they should start chain gangs again. Make them work their butt off. They get to sit around and do nothing all day long, no physical labor, free food and free television, and free access to the education system. Sorry, you go to jail/prison for a reason. As to reform, I am all for it, but I think that the reform should come after they serve their time. If they want to get an education get AFTER they leave prison, not on my taxpaying money. This subject is a very hot topic right now b/c not only do they get all those luxuries, they; also have access to filing free litigation in the Court system. Because they are incarcerated it is like they are treated like royalty, treat them like criminals. They are there for a reason!

    Tammy

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:15 PM  

  • I have something far more important to discuss than prisoners rights. I see leggings in the fall fashion magazines. Oh the horror!!!!!!!!!
    db

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:48 PM  

  • As one might expect. I have a very odd answer to this question. I believe that it is in the potential for every living creature to reach enlightenment or fall from it and that this potential never ceases to exist no matter how depraved or enlightened one becomes. It is easy to sit in a car and assume that you are standing still because you see that everyone else is pass you by, so too it is just as easy to believe that others are greater or lesser than yourself because of your misperception of the truth. We can not simply look at person within prison as though we ourselves were more deserving of a thing or less deserving of their Karma. The lesson of Karma in my experience is that everything we experience is of our own making either in this life, the next or any previous existence.


    That said, it is ones actions which have lead to imprisonment, even if (as many would claim) one is imprisoned falsely. Karma is not a warm fuzzy. It is a process of nature and merely the description of that process at work. An innocent man chooses by continuing to live to remain in prison as much as we choose to allow prisoners privileges that we ourselves can not afford. This is a hard concept for folks who keep a regular accounting of their actions in one life to accept. We want to believe that if we are good for a moment, we will be rewarded in the next moment. That is not the way of Karma. All is work and that work never ceases. One receives the benefits of work done not in this season, but in the previous seasons much like the crops of our farms. Planting a seed of good does not guarantee you some great thing now, it pays the price of the good that you receive from nurturing that seed every single day after you have planted it.


    So... to apply this to our prison system.
    We would like a man to suffer because we have suffered. This sows a seed of negative Karma since it perpetuates suffering. A prisoner in like manner would wish to be forgiven instantly of his actions to avoid suffering, but this too is negative Karma since it does nothing to relieve the suffering that he/she has already caused nor does it train the mind to do that which is uplifting. So my answer to this question is intended to point a way for both persons to increase positive Karma and thus nurture a seed that will in time restore both the prisoner and the free to their natural state.


    A prisoner who has truly accepted his place and wishes to work toward enlightenment and ultimate forgiveness should accept that charity given to him as the example of compassion that he/she must emulate. So too the non-prisoner, if he wishes to work toward enlightenment and ultimate freedom must accept the duties of sharing compassion for all living things without a preconcieved notion of their merit.


    a. Such a prisoner would see air-conditioning and internet as a double opportunity. One in which he can learn the obligations that others have taken to give of themselves to allow him/her this privaledge and to actively seek to return this kindness by a truly repentant way and a willful choice to make this burden light upon the shoulders of his benefactors in any way that he/she can.


    b. So too such a free person would start by rephrasing his/her question, "can I by providing internet access, cable tv, magazine subscriptions and our air condition to another person better their life in the process?"
    In this case, the question of deserving is no longer present. Instead the focus is on the value that such things have in cultivating a positive life in others. If doing so has no positive effect then our actions are not compassion, but excess and attachment. However, if there is a positive outcome then we can not claim to be enlightened while denying the basis of enlightenment which is equivocal compassion.


    Notice here that I use the term compassion. Not coddling. Not spoiling and not affection or love. That is because this an altogether different thing that these other terms. Truest compassion seeks to bring genuine happiness, freedom from suffering and all things good for all living things, not an infinite supply of chocolate for a spoiled child.

    Jasen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:03 PM  

  • Ah, the can of worms that is our Criminal Justice system. I've read the
    previous emails from Tori, Jasen and Tammy - all have valid points. While reading Jasen's I wanted to say "huh" a lot, but being of the yogic lifestyle (okay, laugh a little - I meant the sarcastic yogic lifestyle), I
    understand his points about Karma. However, being of the IU school of Criminal Justice and Sociology, my opinion of the system is one of shear
    f__-upedness. So many changes, no money for them. What rights do
    prisoners have, well none really since they lost those after impeding on someone else's rights and being convicted as such. So, to give them any amenities is a gift, one that we taxpayers pay for and thus should have a
    say in said gifts.

    Here are my votes:

    Internet access - no, except in classroom settings with very strict
    monitoring
    Cable TV - no
    Magazine subscriptions - if paid for by the families of said prisoner, I'm
    okay with it. By the system, NO.
    Air conditioning - Yes.

    As far as the death penalty, I'm all for it, but do question it's
    effectiveness. While we do reserve the right to a speedy trial for those charged with crimes, we do not however reserve the right to a speedy
    sentence completion for the victims of those crimes. This comes back to my original opinion on the shear f__-upedness of the system. I doubt that the
    time and money will ever be spent to correct it.

    Now to Tammy's issue with education for the inmates. I can stand by her on higher education. I paid and am still paying for my college degree and
    feel that prisoners should pay for theirs as well. As for as earning a GED and other re-entry programs that can teach them a trade and a way of life that will give them a better option than crime to make a living, I'm all for it. Many of our criminals know no other way of life. They grew up in
    it and saw no way out. Their families failed them, the school systemfailed them and they failed themselves. If one person is willing to show them some compassion in prison and teach them another way, I think that's the best thing for them. See Jasen, there is some compassion in my views.

    Tara

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:04 PM  

  • While I agree with your view on Karma I disagree with the idea that by not allowing prisoners to have every means of "normal life" that "we" as the general public are somehow wishing suffering onto him or her. I fully agree that Prisoners should be given basic needs and means to better themselves but i do not believe that internet, cable, magazine subscriptions etc. are basic human needs, they are just distractions that allow a prisoner to disregard the importance of being in the situation that his actions have put himself into. Some in the eastern philosophy may even argue that by providing these distractions that is what is really creating the suffering to the individual because they never are made to truly deal with themselves and their actions. We have to realize that not all of
    prison life is free education and porn magazines and there are many
    hardships and disturbing things that take place behind bars, are these things justified? I personally don't think so but this is the only solution we (as a society) have right now to what we like to believe is the controlof such individuals. What we need to do is look at the society that createssuch individuals and figure out how to prevent our children from becoming those adults.

    Tori

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:06 PM  

  • I do have compassion, but at the other side of my beliefs on this is that if someone does the crime that they should be in a prison system that does not allow them to be able to have luxuries that some law abiding citizens cannot even afford. We all make mistakes in our lives. I have been arrested, but I learned from my mistake. A lot of the criminals get out and go back, why should I PAY with MY MONEY for them to have cable, magazines, free education. I am not denying their basic right of being a citizen and a human being, but I am saying to those prisoners, that while you might think it is good to be in here, free food, free place to stay, etc., will not be a cakewalk. Criminals lose those rights to wants the second they commit a crime. Give them the needs to sustain life, food, shelter, clothing, but nothing more. Make them work on some of the projects that we as tax payers are paying for i.e. mowing grass along the interstates so that those items are being taken care of and they are paying for their keep in the system. I am also not saying that a person should suffer just b/c they made a person suffer but I do believe that they need to pay for what they did and how is putting them in a 5 Star Conrad hotel making them pay? Personally, prisoners have it easy. They have free room and board, free food, free cable, free education, heck who wouldn’t want to commit a crime for all the perks. Maybe as a Christian I should not feel the way I feel about this b/c we are given plenty of second chances, but currently that is the way I feel on the subject.

    Tammy

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:07 PM  

  • My two cents is this... I would not want to go to prison regardless of any of the minute details mentioned (internet, cable tv, etc.). I do not commit
    crimes, (regardless of morals) because I want to be free. When someone takes away your basic right of "freedom" supposing that you committed a crime which allowed them to take away that right -- everything else is just
    details. The fact that a prisoner might be able to surf the internet or watch ESPN Sportscenter is a luxury that doesn't even compare to the value of being free. Being able to go out to dinner with your family, stroll through the park with your dog or take your son to his first baseball game.
    Freedom is the one underlying factor that should never be taken for granted.
    And though we might feel angry and upset that our tax dollars may be paying for unnecessary "luxuries" that some of us may not even be able to afford,the bottom line stands that prisoners are not free. They sleep when its
    lights out, they eat when the cafeteria says they eat, they do what they do when someone elses tells them they can do it. I would not want to live like
    that regardless of who was paying for it. So, in regards to my feelings about prisoners having access to things such
    as internet, cable tv, magazines, etc. ... sure, that doesn't bother me, even if as a tax payer I am the one who is ultimately paying for it. Those minute pleasures may keep the inmates happier which will in turn cause less trouble for the guards and other inmates, which may somehow make for a safer prison, I don't know. I'm sure that there is a reason to support offering those "unnecessary luxuries" to inmates, and not knowing that makes this a difficult question to answer.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:09 PM  

  • The concept of Karma is not easy to understand when one is trying to look at it through the glasses of Western beliefs. Remember this concept is altogether alien to western thought. We have few social mechanisms that emulate it. Unfortunately, without a clearer understanding of this my earlier statement was misunderstood. I shall attempt to be more direct this time...


    My contention with regards to Karma and the prison system is not that they should have internet, porn, etc or that their deeds be ignored (which is simply not possible). Rather the opposite should be true. We should be focusing on ways to better their lives to bring them to enlightenment and to help them to shed the delusions which have brought the consequence of imprisonment upon them. If by educating them we do this, then our obligation is to educate them in order that we can shed our own delusion that we should be educated first because we are more important than they are. In so doing we not only increase our merit, but we also strengthen those willing to change such that both the prisoner and the warden have less to do next time around.

    --Jasen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:10 PM  

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