Does jail work?

[unbeliever]

The victims of crime, at least in cases where those who have hurt them (physically or otherwise) by their crimes, have an reasonable expectation that the state will value them as victims by imposing a proportional punishment on those who hurt them.

That's the deal. We agree not to take revenge on those who hurt us and grant authority to do that to the state. They need to respect that.

At its core the justice system is a civilised and organised version of revenge, and not a purely pragmatic system for controlling crime.

There can be plenty of wiggle room, but the element of righteous vengeance cannot be ignored.

[markd99]

I think it depends on the person, who they are, what their situation is and what their prospects are after jail.

 

I was 22 (nearly 10 years ago now) and got 18 months for GBH. I had been in trouble for minor stuff before that and had been in court a few times but that was my first really serious thing. Prison isn't a holiday camp like some people think but dor someone like me it was bad enough but you have to stay tough inside.

 

I saw older men there who had been in and out of prison who had lost contact with their families and kids and remember thinking I didn't want to end up like them. When I was in prison I worked in the kitchens and did courses thinking about what I would do when I got out.

 

Lucky when I got out I still had my family and a place to live and got back working quick enough - eventhough it was a crap job but my family made me get up and go to it every day even if I didn't want to. Other people though get out are living in hostels and not working and get back into trouble again. When i was in prison I saw people getting released and ending up back inside a few weeks later. They didn't really mind being in prison.

 

I'm not a saint or anything but in 9 years out I've only been arrested once again so I don't know f I would count in those stats about reoffending but I am a different person now than I was when I was 22.

 

Somebody else said that the biggest thing about not reoffending is getting older. I have a family now - 2 kids - and couldn't imagine going back to prison as a Dad. My 2 kids - 6 and 4 - have no idea that I've been in prison and I wouldn't want them to find out. I still feel bad about what I did and put my family through but that's all in my past now.

[ANGELFIRE1]

Just read about an American female teacher being jailed for 30 years for having sex with her 16 year old pupil.

 

 

Honestly, I would have given 5 years off my life to kip with one of my Teachers when I was 16, she was a real babe.

 

As for jail working, give the offenders a good long sentence with no time off for good behaviour or any other time reducing incentive. Oh, and no snooker tables or electronic games or TV's. Sewing mail bags for 10 hours a day sounds about right.

 

Wonder if the inmates would like to go back to face that.

 

Angel1.

Edited January 31, 2017 by nikki-red
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[Lockdoctor]

Just read about an American female teacher being jailed for 30 years for having sex with her 16 year old pupil.

 

 

Honestly, I would have given 5 years off my life to kip with one of my Teachers when I was 16, she was a real babe.

 

As for jail working, give the offenders a good long sentence with no time off for good behaviour or any other time reducing incentive. Oh, and no snooker tables or electronic games or TV's. Sewing mail bags for 10 hours a day sounds about right.

 

Wonder if the inmates would like to go back to face that.

 

Angel1.

What you say is honest and true. English prisoner would not trade places with prisoner in Iran.

Edited January 31, 2017 by nikki-red
fixed quote tags

[Halibut]

I think it depends on the person, who they are, what their situation is and what their prospects are after jail.

 

I was 22 (nearly 10 years ago now) and got 18 months for GBH. I had been in trouble for minor stuff before that and had been in court a few times but that was my first really serious thing. Prison isn't a holiday camp like some people think but dor someone like me it was bad enough but you have to stay tough inside.

 

I saw older men there who had been in and out of prison who had lost contact with their families and kids and remember thinking I didn't want to end up like them. When I was in prison I worked in the kitchens and did courses thinking about what I would do when I got out.

 

Lucky when I got out I still had my family and a place to live and got back working quick enough - eventhough it was a crap job but my family made me get up and go to it every day even if I didn't want to. Other people though get out are living in hostels and not working and get back into trouble again. When i was in prison I saw people getting released and ending up back inside a few weeks later. They didn't really mind being in prison.

 

I'm not a saint or anything but in 9 years out I've only been arrested once again so I don't know f I would count in those stats about reoffending but I am a different person now than I was when I was 22.

 

Somebody else said that the biggest thing about not reoffending is getting older. I have a family now - 2 kids - and couldn't imagine going back to prison as a Dad. My 2 kids - 6 and 4 - have no idea that I've been in prison and I wouldn't want them to find out. I still feel bad about what I did and put my family through but that's all in my past now.

 

Thanks for such an honest and insightful response markd99. Glad to hear you're a different man now. If you don't mind me asking, do you think anything could have got you to change sooner than you did?

Your sentence was for GBH, so I'm guessing either anger management issues or drink related issues - would professional help have made a difference earlier on?

 

Just read about an American female teacher being jailed for 30 years for having sex with her 16 year old pupil.

 

 

Honestly, I would have given 5 years off my life to kip with one of my Teachers when I was 16, she was a real babe.

 

As for jail working, give the offenders a good long sentence with no time off for good behaviour or any other time reducing incentive. Oh, and no snooker tables or electronic games or TV's. Sewing mail bags for 10 hours a day sounds about right.

 

Wonder if the inmates would like to go back to face that.

 

Angel1.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that in this age when we have access to many great works of literature, the testimony of many prisoners, the wonders of the internet and plenty of robust research, that there are still people capable of such a simplistic, facile and frankly stupid point of view.

Edited January 31, 2017 by nikki-red
fixed quote tags

[Guest]

Depends on the country where jail is located.

Good luck with rehabilitation in eastern europe\ russian prisons, for example.

[crookedspire]

Depends on the country where jail is located.

Good luck with rehabilitation in eastern europe\ russian prisons, for example.

 

Putin's jail's have their own rough justice and the Police their are given an free hand .

[markd99]

Honestly, I would have given 5 years off my life to kip with one of my Teachers when I was 16, she was a real babe.

 

As for jail working, give the offenders a good long sentence with no time off for good behaviour or any other time reducing incentive. Oh, and no snooker tables or electronic games or TV's. Sewing mail bags for 10 hours a day sounds about right.

 

Wonder if the inmates would like to go back to face that.

 

Angel1.

 

As an "offender" I can tell you don't know how prison works. On the news the past while there's been loads about the high number of suicides in the prisons so that doesn't mean that it is easy inside. There are many more prisoners than prison officers in prison so there has to be good reasons to get prisoners to behave and not get into trouble. That is why there is early release for good behaviour. And ask any of the screws and they would say it is better that prisoners are kept occupied with snooker tables or TVs. You have to pay to have the TV in your cell and it is a privilege that can be taken away and nobody wants to lose their TV. If you are banged up for a weekend - maybe 22 hours out of 24 - you need something or you would just go mad and there would be worse trouble.

 

Getting us to sew mailbags or something is stupid. What good is that going to do. You might be surprised but I think it is right that you should have to work or do classes in prison. But there aren't jobs for everybody and you have to wait to get anything decent - otherwise you probably end up just cleaning. I preferred to be working and worked in the kitchens - I much preferred being busy working than being stuck in my cell all day.

 

Thanks for such an honest and insightful response markd99. Glad to hear you're a different man now. If you don't mind me asking, do you think anything could have got you to change sooner than you did?

 

Your sentence was for GBH, so I'm guessing either anger management issues or drink related issues - would professional help have made a difference earlier on?

 

No bother. To answer you I'm not sure if anything else would have got me to change. Before being done for GBH I didn't really worry about getting arrested and had been fined and got community payback but it didn't really bother me. It only hit me when i ended up in prison that I had to change. It was that more than anything else and realising how bad my family took it. I would say i am going to change but then got in trouble again. so the honest answer is probably only if I got sent to prison before or had a serious girlfriend or something like that.

 

Yeah I guess you could say i had issues with drink and anger management but never really did anything about it until I ended up on prison and did courses for anger management and alcohol abuse. I didn't really think I had a problem before that.

 

Depends on the country where jail is located.

Good luck with rehabilitation in eastern europe\ russian prisons, for example.

 

I am sure there are much worse places to be in prison than here.Just lucky that it isn't so bad here.

[glennpickard]

Anyone wanting to see if jail works should watch the Michael Moore documentary "Where to invade next ?" There are various European prison examples reviewed against the US system, whose antiquated system does not work for those incarcerated, only for private prison owners , judges etc.

Like most things there, it has been turned into a profitable venture for those promoting it.

The 30 year sentence for the school teacher is just one example of a justice system that failed long ago. Also keep in mind that not only can prisoners not vote in jail, most of them cannot vote when they are released and have served their time. So this is a political pound of flesh extracted by the "System."

If the UK needs to review its prison system, I recommend it should go to Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden to see what works.

[Padders]

MARKD 99...what a honest guy you are, enjoy your posts...best of luck in the future, you deserve it.