[mass55th]

Why wouldn't any scumbag want to go to prison again and again? Afterall, they get to hang out with their home boys, join a prison gang, have more rights behind bars than they had on the street, and get all the drugs and sex they want, not to mention free mail, free medical, dental and vision care, as well as three square meals a day, plus the ability to purchase items like cigarettes at the prison commissary for less than what law-abiding citizens pay on the outside. Then of course there's the ability to cut a deal with the DA, so that you never do the time for the actual crime you committed. Life is good if you're a criminal.

Hey Senator, try making prisons so horrible that no one would ever want to set foot in one.

[Jim Noble]

Hey Senator, try making prisons so horrible that no one would ever want to set foot in one.

Mission accomplished.

Just one thing - the reason they are so horrible is that the violent and sadistic minority of prisoners are in charge, not the guards and certainly not the State.

That the State - dispenser of justice and mercy - tolerates this situation greatly aggravates the problem of recidivism.

Instead of letting violent sociopaths dominate the other prisoners (that's a lot of FReepers idea of just punishment), they should be isolated or killed as a sign that the State dispenses justice with wisdom and mercy.

As it is, the actions of the State are incomprehensible to the broken people in prison, and run a very good chance of bringing them out worse than they went in.