And naturally there's a wide spectrum of impressions and it's up to me to decide which impressions seem more credible than the others.
Some say prisoners are pampered. They have all mod cons like TVs, computers and mobile phones. They have free board and lodging and no bills to pay. Being in jail isn't a punishment but a cushy number. After all, some ex-prisoners deliberately commit new crimes so they can return to prison!
Others say prisons are horrific places and not in any way cushy. Prisoners have to piss and shit in their cells, they're stuck in their cells for 23 hours a day, they get raped by other prisoners, they hardly ever see their loved ones. Not to mention their deteriorating mental health.
I guess the reality is that prisons vary immensely, and while some may be fairly bearable others are hellholes of cruelty and violence.
It's noticeable that prominent public figures tend to be spared the worst jails and get placed in the more hospitable ones, like the so-called open prisons that have the least restrictions on movements and activities.
If I ever ended up in jail, there's no way I could survive such a brutish existence. I would go completely mad in a matter of weeks. How other people endure jail for decades on end I can't imagine. Their resilience is extraordinary.
I don't know about the UK, but most prisons in the US are absolute hellholes. There are a few pleasanter "country club" prisons where rich criminals go.
ReplyDeletePrisons in Norway are said to be pretty cushy. But that's a very rich country with relatively low crime and few prisoners. I guess they can afford it.
Infidel: One reason our jails are so overcrowded is because a lot of women get jailed for offences like shoplifting and debt.
DeleteLike not paying their television licence.
DeleteFly: Yes, that sort of petty crime.
DeleteI have zero knowledge on the topic but that picture would be considered a very nice dorm room in the US!
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a photo of something seedier but I couldn't find anything.
DeleteOh Nick, I never saw ( and I saw quite a lot in different countries) a cushy or comfortable prison.Only for VIP who seem to have.nice conditions. Violence, corruption and a complete parallel world exist in a lot of prisons and when you go in prison for a small thing , you will come out as a criminal. The prisons are over crowded and the system must be completely changed. Prisoners must be treated with humanity and I am sure that everybody must get a second chance.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: As you say, prisons are often breeding grounds for criminals rather than places where people "go straight". The whole principle of imprisonment needs to be rethought - but of course it won't be.
DeleteMy friend was sentenced to 3 months in the workhouse for embezzlement. That means he could go to and from work but nowhere else. The rest of the time he was incarcerated. When that threatened to happen a second time, he committed suicide rather than go back. He said that while in there he tried not to be noticed and the hardest thing to do was take a shower.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: That's a sad story. Trying not to be noticed must be especially difficult in prison where you're constantly watched.
DeleteI have a cousin who murdered our aunt, rolled her in a rug and stuck her under the eaves in the attic. No lie. This was in the '70s. I have a cousin who went to prison for rape, also in the '70s. They were both from the maternal side. I had a friend who went to the workhouse for drug possession, you guessed it. In the '70s.
ReplyDeleteSandra: Goodness, some shocking things there. Yes, a lot of people were nicked for drug possession in the 70s. And now drug possession is ten times worse!
DeleteThe El Salvador prisons look like an open hell's mouth.
ReplyDeleteFly: There are plenty of jails around the world where conditions are much much worse than in the UK.
DeleteIf someone wants to get back into prison, 1. Life must be hell outside and 2 . They get institutionalised
ReplyDeleteGZ: Indeed, life must have been diabolical for someone to want to be re-imprisoned.
DeleteMy mother had a friend who went to prison as a teenager for 30 years. (He didn't know the car he was driving was about to become a getaway car.) When he got out he did not know how to live in the real world. That's one reason so many go back--they know how to live there and few are willing to give them a chance on the outside.
ReplyDeleteLinda
I have several family members who have been in prison including my mom, uncle, and several family friends. Not a place I would want to be.
ReplyDeleteMary: Goodness, that's quite a tally. Not a place I would want to be either.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt's true that some deliberately re-offend but that's because their mental health and institutionalisation means they can't cope in the outside world.
ReplyDeleteI suppose in some ways it's cushy - meals, heating, a structure to the day - but every door is locked behind you, you're away from your family, and you have no choices.
Liz: I suspect you're right about institutionalisation. And the longer you're in jail, the harder it will be to adjust to the outside world.
Delete