Prison System ~ It Makes No Sense

America seems to have a very strange idea of prisons if you think about. Since I am "Old", I have way too much time to think, and being an "Old Hippie", well, often those things that I think about seem to take on a life of their own. So, I have asked myself a question, "What is the purpose of the prison system"? On the philosophic level, I think it is to segregate those people who can not live by the rules society has implemented. I think that this boils down to keeping convicted criminals somewhere separate from those who are law abiding citizens. But there is more to it, because people are sent to prison for different lengths of time, so they are reintroduced back into society at some point, at least the vast majority are. But inside the prison, it seems that they are treated very much the same way. For instance, prisoner A who is serving 5 years for car theft may be in a cell next to prisoner B who is serving 3 life sentences for 3 different murders. This doesn't seem right to me. So, the question of rehabilitation comes into this murky picture.

Prisoner A is scheduled to be reintroduced to society. He should be in a place that prepares him for this reintroduction. He should be in a place where he is given special education designed to make him a functioning member of society. He should be in a place that gives him the training needed to develop the job skills required to make a life in normal society. And his reintroduction into normal society should be dependent upon the success of this training. Isn't this what rehabilitation is about? Isn't rehabilitation about both teaching a person how to act and live in society, and giving them a skill set that will allow them to succeed? As for prisoner B, why wast time and taxpayer money on him? Put prisoner B in a place where there are nothing except those like him.

Interesting, in 2 paragraphs I have made an argument for 2 completely different types of prisons. Like discovering a new star, I'll name them. Prisoner A should be in what I will call the "Rehab Prison", and prisoner B should be located in what I am calling the "Lost Cause Prison". Cool names, yes? Both of these prisons should be totally new, not the structures, but the systems. First, the Rehab prison.

To begin with, it has to be DRUG FREE! America has been fighting the "War on Drugs" since the majority of Americans have been alive, and what has that accomplished? Simple common sense will tell you that if you can't keep drugs out of a prison, you will never keep them out of schools or the rest of society. So, fix the problem! Second, don't allow people in the Rehab prison to be screw-ups. Punish them for breaking the rules, and if they continue to break rules, use your heads and recognize that they are not capable of living in normal society. Ship them off to the Lost Cause prison and be done with them. Getting out of Rehab Prison and getting back into society should be a reward attained through personal success, not a foregone conclusion. Society does not want people to leave the prison system simply to be sent back because they go back to a life of crime. That is a big part of the problem with the current system. A prisoner is sentenced to 10 years, served 6 years, gets nothing more than an advanced degree in criminal activity, then gets out to become a smarter, more effective and efficient criminal. Where is the benefit to society with this?

The Lost Cause prison should be a very different place. These are people who will never be allowed to join society again. NEVER! So, send them to a place where they will never be a threat to society. Send them to a place where they can not escape from. Don't spend money on facilities, guards or support personnel. There are some islands in the Aleutians called the "Rat Islands". That sounds like a good place to put these people. Build the initial facilities there, supply the place with the things people need to survive there, drop them off there, and send a supply ship or plane there once a month to deliver food and other supplies. They can't be part of normal society, so let them develop their own. Their lives, their island, their rules, their society. Some of you will see this as inhumane, maybe not Christian, or too extreme. But, war is inhumane, not Christian and extreme, and America has never had a problem with going to war!

The point is that the current prison system does not work. Prisons today are rife with drugs, ruled by violent gangs and education centers and recruiting grounds for criminal activity. And, they cost a lot of money. Spending money on people is not a bad thing, but the taxpayer should benefit from the money spent. So, spend it where it will do the most good, and STOP spending it on "Lost Causes". But, I'm an Old Hippie, and maybe we don't think alike. Let me know how you would solve this problem. The problem is a real one, and someone needs to fix it. Have A Great Day.

The Old Hippie