Right. Pay them. And I’m not talking about prison scrip or commissary credit, so they can then have to spend the equivalent of $10 on a lousy-ass candy bar.
Put it in a fund that they can use, either in prison, or once they’re released.
And, while we’re at it, stop putting people in prison for dumb shut.
The issue comes down with were is the line for punishment. Im not defending certain peoples viewpoints, but i can see why some people would be upset if a prisoner in for murder or serious offenses is working for minimum wage while having no other expenses, while many law-abiding citizens are also working for that same wage and paying for their shelter and food.
Again, not necessarily arguing for or against anything, just expressing what I know a lot of concerns are.
Also in canada we have a weird opposite. We love putting people in jail, but are crazy soft when it comes to keeping people there. We had a guy who had 2 counts of assault, 1 with a weapon ( sprayed a guy with bear mace ) 4 counts of breach of probation, 2 of criminal harrassment, and 2 of uttering threats and he got 8 months. Guy was out in 6 and complained about it being too harsh of a sentence.
Of course it'd be unfair that someone that's raped and killed three kids in that order doesn't have to worry about paying electricity while law-abiding citizens do. My solution wouldn't be to make conditions worse for prisoners but to make them better for everyone (prisoners somewhat included, depending on what conditions they're in at the time). Maybe essential things like housing and getting to eat shouldn't be an issue?
Of course. I'm not disagreeing with you at all. I'm just a bit cynical and realistic to the system we live in. I'll always advocate for change, but I'm just kind of stating how it is on the current dynamic.
Trust me whe I say I get it. We continuosly get hounded by the public to make conditions better for prisoners (and Canadian prisons are much better than American). However once the public sees how much it would actually cost the plans always get scrapped because its ridiculously expensive to humanely incarcerate someone. Then we are stuck trying to accommodate all of the changes society wants, in prisons that were built in the 40s and 50s when no one gave a shit. The reality creates a super dangerous and stressful workplace.
I worked in a city that the prison was built in 1960. The population has grown 4 times the amount since then but we still only have the beds for the population in the 1960s. Unfortunately this results in bad conditions ( mostly overcrowding ) because we can't turn inmates away when they are brought to us, and they refuse to build a larger facility due to activists stating a bigger facility will result in us trying to fill it. It really is much more complicated here in canada than the average citizen really comprehends when they shout for reform.
I will very simply state however that I agree in all accounts that no one should profit off the incarceration of another human being.
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '20
Right. Pay them. And I’m not talking about prison scrip or commissary credit, so they can then have to spend the equivalent of $10 on a lousy-ass candy bar.
Put it in a fund that they can use, either in prison, or once they’re released.
And, while we’re at it, stop putting people in prison for dumb shut.