I am afraid you can. What does it say about the United States?
Probably doesn't have the worst prisons in the world but definetly also not the best ones. From a country which says about itself "the greatest country of the world" you should expect better prisons. Gang violence is obviously a very big problem. Drugs as well. Are the prisons to full? Yes they are. What can you do about it?
What are you talking about? What's your definition of "better prisons?" If I had it my way, they'd be like the Bastille. Alot of these hardcore ex-cons aren't afraid of prison anymore. So by "better" do you mean "worse" so they'd never commit a crime in fear of going to prison? Be more specific. Gang violence is a direct result of failed education and community. That is a residual effect of ghettoization and an overload of legal (and illegal) residents. I've never heard a US native claim this is "the greatest country of the world." But with all of your buddies apparently wanting to become citizens here, it's clearly everyone else who has that sentiment.
share"I've never heard a US native claim this is "the greatest country of the world."
Palin and McCain said it around 2 month ago. Just an example.
Yeah, I'm sure no politicians or citizens of other countries have ever made such patriotic/nationalistic claims before. Come on guy, people can believe their country is the "greatest" in the world without it being infallible.
I'm sure prisons in other countries deal with corruption and violence as well, probably to a higher degree in the poorer nations. We just never hear about it because there are fewer checks and balances.
> fewer checks and balances <
Can you imagine getting on the wrong side of the army, some judge, some politician and you happen to be locked up in a Mexican jail? Can you even imagine giving some Commie general an inadvertent 'dirty' look, or 'evil-eye'? You'd be lucky to get a show trial. And everyone fawns over the Chicoms.
The administrators use the gangs, the factions, the rapes, the attacks and murders. But the simpler solution, and which many have called for, is the isolation route. There's less need - not none, but far less - to divide and conquer with these brutal schemes if each prisoner is kept in isolation, and in isolation from all others. Yes, it would drive some absolutely insane. That's the other side of it.
The fact is, the 'Brotherhood' or nations or whatever didn't exist until fairly recently. Administrators allowed this to happen. And prison gangs don't necessarily reflect that status of gangs outside the walls. But there is opportunistic cooperation. The idea of the Brotherhoods dealing with the Mexican gangs is pretty much how it's reported, as fact, in CA prisons and elsewhere. So too the notion of competing black gangs, as well, smaller, and not nearly as well organized or large on the outside particularly compared with the Mexican, specifically. And there have been stings of corrupt guards - to say the least.
The problem is, even if you made a film more sympathetic to the guards, and to some extent Felon tries to be, it's not the 'bad evil' guards you'd discover but again these things which really are illegal designed to divide and conquer when prisoners are allowed to communicate and congregate in large groups. And these are put there by prison authorities. And everyone looks the other way.
Yes, people look the other way at so much in society. Joe's over there making money with his 'triple-A' sub-prime (a euphemism for those who shouldn't have qualified for a loan) bundle and no one wants to rock the boat until INEVITABLY someone 'discovers' - hey, those aren't triple-As, and no 'insurance' is going to make it so. And yet - this is what people did. They all looked the other way. They look even further away if you mention the prison system. They let Leno tells jokes about it by way of deterrence. Go in, you'll be a monster when you leave, he says - so mind your manners.
Still, this idea of a conspiracy of guards shooting down prisoners in staged fights goes one step too many, I think. I've not heard of such routinized 'games' where frequently prisoners wind up being shot. Staging such contests, maybe - but gunning 'em down? Redford was in an odd little prison film with Gandolfini as the 'bad guard'. And they liked the shoot-em-up there. It's a cliche.
Obviously the movie went completely over your head and you didn't even get the main premise of the movie. I hope you have the 'misfortune' of ending up on the other side, and see your opinion change in a heart beat, typical arm chair quarterback...
share> I hope you have the 'misfortune' of ending up on the other side <
That's like wishing someone to hades, isn't it?
Why would you do that?
So you'd see the other side, and not have to rely on your ignorance..
shareDon't wish such evil on someone. The 'other side' offers no lessons.
Only to one that runs around with blinders on, and does not see reality..
shareSeriously. The 'other side', here, offers no lessons. You don't wish hades, literally or figuratively, on someone. But I suppose you'll just repeat yourself in reply? Last word?
shareThere's many people I 'wish hades on', starting with anyone that hurts women or children..
shareAnd if it's a child who is a bully or a woman hurting her child or another woman?
Confirmed to swift judgment, which is what wished hades on someone means, is saying whatever the crime it cannot be forgiven. Frankly, we see in fictional film probably more violent fantasy murders than there are in real life, from Pesci's Nick 'the little guy' in Casino to Spacey's character in Seven to Zombie's Devil's Rejects and just so many others over recent decades. If such insane murderer's existed, if there were a Lector or Gumb say, most everyone would say, condemn them now, swift judgment, even give them the same as they gave their victims (which would take some time with Spacey's character particularly). But a court ordered execution is not necessarily vengeance. It's a just punishment. And one can still hold off saying that God wants to wash his hands of murderers. The difficulty is simply that the murderer will take the Lector approach, or the Spacey approach, and blame all the other sinners, but never themselves, and never take God up on the offer of forgiveness. Their extreme pride and madness have taken them too far to admit wrong, like senility prevents the sinner from having his death-bed confession (he no longer has the sense to confess a thing). It's an other-worldly idea, for sure, being washed clean by God. It's an idea not of this world. But then God said to be in the world, but not of it - the most unexpected notion in such a context as this. Sure, there's the 'padre', or whoever they send these days, at the cell door with whatever passes for 'last rites' in these one-world sects. But it's really as if the world says, don't get 'em to change their mind, padre. And the padre sees a soul simply unable to commit to being forgiven. So.
I like Dexter, he's the man..
shareI'd say we switch anyone with life in prison to the death penalty. I'd say we not only execute them all but film it on pay per view to help pay for them. When everything is said and done I'd suggest you make them all into Soilent Green and feed them to the hungry all over the world.
this would solve three problems at once.
The name is Stephen and I'm male.
Fear me, Love me, do as I say, and I'll be your slave.
It's the sheer number of people in prison in the United States that you should be more worried about.
The US has less than 5% of the world's population and 23.4% of the world's prison population.
Because jail and prison in US is definitely a for profit business. My biggest issue with prison/jail in a country as developed as the US is the lack of reform efforts/programs for non violent offenders who leave the correction's system hardened and more of a criminal than when they went in; ripe and ready for recidivism. It's quite sad.
shareyep for profit business, the longer you keep them in prison, the longer the paycheck, the more you send in the prison the more you have to tax the citizens, the prison system is so terrible the U.S. its the only country in the world that lets thousands of inmate out of prison every year due to over crowding, then those same prisoners return next year because no one wants to hire felons, and if they return for a violent crime like most do then thats the excuse to build more prisons hire more guards, and tax the citizens if their is no budget for that, then they build private prisons.
share