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Old 11-17-2013, 03:17 AM
 
24 posts, read 51,495 times
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It was a university field trip in which we had a discussion about religion with some of the inmates. Found out some really interesting things about the prison though. For those of you that don't know it is a maximum security prison in Taylorsville.

-It is ten years old.
-No one has ever escaped
-Half of the inmates are in for murder!
-A third of the remaining half are in for being sex offenders and the rest are either felons or habitual felons.

It was an eyeopening expereince to say the least. One of the inmates said of the jail that "the monotony kills me. Everyday is the exact same day."

I think it would be a positive idea for all public school kids should visit a prison so as to deter them from committing crime in the future. Watch the crime rate drop.
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Old 11-17-2013, 07:54 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
2,657 posts, read 8,018,291 times
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I visited a county correctional center as part of my duties being on a grand jury. We were deputed to assess the conditions and write down what we felt needed to be changed. Honestly - the place was clean, the prisoners appeared in good condition. It did appear to be a monotonous condition to endure.

The cell block was stark, featureless and without cheer. The inmates were locked out of their cells from 10am to 8pm having nothing to do but hang out in a common area, read books from the miniscule library and exercise (saw a couple of the female inmates doing yoga). You have to remove everything you'll need for the day (including your ration of toilet paper) before the cells are locked. There is absolutely no privacy - a condition that I know would break me. The guards can see in the cells, have an unobstructed view of the common area; you have no privacy even for intimate functions. We couldn't see the physical facility that comprised the bathroom, but there was a mirror canted at an angle so you could see down inside to the toilets.

If one hoped to see a sort of "Oz" environment (not me), the facility doesn't meet the expectations. However, it is a place where you feel your soul shrivel. Young folks might not feel fear at seeing the place, but explain to them: your every move is calculated and controlled; your social life - physical and online - no longer exists; you can't take a pee without someone making note. You become a Nothing.

I can't think of any action that would be worth the risk becoming that state of being.
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Old 11-17-2013, 09:06 AM
 
Location: The Triad
34,090 posts, read 82,716,942 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverwing View Post
...the place was clean, the prisoners appeared in good condition.
It did appear to be a monotonous condition to endure.
A former employee described County as "a locked down kindergarten"
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Old 11-17-2013, 12:00 PM
 
12,573 posts, read 15,533,334 times
Reputation: 8960
Quote:
Originally Posted by herndonhomer View Post
It was a university field trip in which we had a discussion about religion with some of the inmates. Found out some really interesting things about the prison though. For those of you that don't know it is a maximum security prison in Taylorsville.

-It is ten years old.
-No one has ever escaped
-Half of the inmates are in for murder!
-A third of the remaining half are in for being sex offenders and the rest are either felons or habitual felons.

It was an eyeopening expereince to say the least. One of the inmates said of the jail that "the monotony kills me. Everyday is the exact same day."

I think it would be a positive idea for all public school kids should visit a prison so as to deter them from committing crime in the future. Watch the crime rate drop.
This has been done with at risk teens around the country. Does it work? I have no idea.
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Old 11-17-2013, 03:18 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
2,657 posts, read 8,018,291 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
A former employee described County as "a locked down kindergarten"
As cheerless and controlling as that was, I wouldn't want to do anything to earn enrollment in even that level.
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Old 11-17-2013, 04:03 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,090 posts, read 82,716,942 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverwing View Post
As cheerless and controlling as that was,
I wouldn't want to do anything to earn enrollment in even that level.
No doubt. His observation was about the nature of most of the inmates.

With rather few exceptions none was particularly violent or in on charges of any especially
onerous nature and because of that they didn't need to be on tight reins. The deeper point
though is that very few of them needed to be there at all and most were not gaining anything
from the experience aside from card game skills.

To the degree they were being punished it was in making it even harder for them to later get jobs.
No one gained by it.
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Old 11-17-2013, 06:20 PM
LLN
 
Location: Upstairs closet
5,265 posts, read 10,694,982 times
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I hope it is terrible and it drives all the fellons to suicide!

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime!

My lack of sympathy is only exceeded by the energy available at absolute zero!
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Old 11-18-2013, 08:26 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
2,657 posts, read 8,018,291 times
Reputation: 4361
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
No doubt. His observation was about the nature of most of the inmates.

With rather few exceptions none was particularly violent or in on charges of any especially
onerous nature and because of that they didn't need to be on tight reins. The deeper point
though is that very few of them needed to be there at all and most were not gaining anything
from the experience aside from card game skills.

To the degree they were being punished it was in making it even harder for them to later get jobs.
No one gained by it.
A lot of cases we, the grand jurors, had to read and decide to pass as "true bills" made us shake our heads. Those people seemed to have taken courses in Plain Stupidity.

It wasn't up to us to decide guilt or deal punishment, merely judge that there was sufficient evidence for these people to go to trial. It made one quite doleful to think "did this person think that stealing a gun/car/lawn equipment/Walmart merchandise/500 lottery tickets was worth the likelihood of getting caught and potentially ruining their future?" However, we couldn't let it drop. A crime was committed, there was sufficient evidence that this person was the one who should be charged, they had to face the system. That was our sworn duty, as depressing it was to carry it out.

A number of us offered a private suggestion: send the perp to us. Make them run a gauntlet as we kick their butts and box their ears, saying "that was an asinine caper! don't you have any sense? this could ruin your life!" then send them out with a second chance and a threat that next time they'd have to face the system.
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:55 PM
 
24 posts, read 51,495 times
Reputation: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLN View Post
I hope it is terrible and it drives all the fellons to suicide!

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime!

My lack of sympathy is only exceeded by the energy available at absolute zero!
See thats the same sentiment that I would normally feel, but now that I've actually seen first-hand how miserable these guys are and how genuinely some of them felt regretful, I have to say maybe there isn't a correlation between time and crime and these guys made genuine mistakes.

If any of them could go back and do it again they would not commit the crime. But then that brings up the idea of "you're only guilty if you're caught" and some only regret it because they got caught.

I'm not totally against the idea of jail, but I think they should make it less miserable.
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