Prison Life
Without even watching the video I have an idea of the horrific life style of being in prison. People are treated like animals; locked and chained up like a feral hound that bites back. Now many people agree that "criminals" need to be taught a lesson on how to behave. How our system goes about teaching that lesson is completely wrong in my own opinion. One of the first things I learned in my Lifeguard training coarse was that to get people to do as you want its all about how you say it. You don’t tell a kid "DON’T RUN", because they will walk out of your vision and then start to run again. So we were taught to tell someone what to do rather than what NOT to do. "WAAALLKK" would be the proper thing to shout at a kid. We have to distinguish the difference in how we approach people who break the rules, however serious they may be. In my theory we should take a more restorative and less punitive approach to criminals, they aren't dogs who need to be caged up, rather children who need direction.
This video shows living conditions of a Maximum Security Correctional Prison in Florida. The first lines that come from an inmate are about the two "predominant emotions anger and fear". He goes on to talk about how "this place will do one of two things, mentally, it will break you down, fill you with hate or anger" or will make you a mindless machine who focuses on staying away from bad situations. Now some people may say that’s a good lesson to learn but I think that when people are put under that much stress or restrictive conditions they will start to break as described. Those feelings of hate or anger can lead to disciplinary refusal. When people reach that breaking point they can do one of two things. A) put the blame on someone else and cause them harm or B) harm themselves in some way. What we see now is an inmate who is called "Inmate - Doctor" who when is under too much stress or is an environment he feels uncomfortable in he will cut himself in hopes of going somewhere else whether it be the medical wing or an inpatient center. His "case-managers" or supervisors said that they knew he was doing these things in order to gain attention or to be moved and that he had done it several times. Some people may look over this and think 'hmm- this guy might be a little nuts' but I see it as something that NEEDS to be changed. If prisoners feel unsafe or threatened in their environment they need to be moved. His correctional officer (I believe) said that "he will remain with medical staff probably throughout the rest of the day and then he will be returned here tomorrow, but his cells been decontaminated and is ready for him." I am utterly disgusted by the fact that he will be returned to the same environment he was in before.
Later in the video we get brief glances at some of the restrictions on every inmate. One in particular that inflames me was the lack of talking in the "mess-hall". When I was being held at an in-patient center we were forced to come out and talk to people when we ate. If we didn’t it was marked down and brought up to us later, "was there something wrong? Why weren't you engaging at lunch". A lot of people would say that it was because I was somewhere where they were worried about my health, they felt it was important for someone who is forced to be somewhere to seek comfort or relatability from others in the same situation. People will say its different in prison because inmates could plan an escape or something in there. Well that may be true in some circumstances however if living conditions were better people might not have to think about breaking out rather than just serving their time and take from this experience what they need.
The next scene that really caught my attention was the rap by the two inmates. Not because I enjoy rap (which I truly don’t) but because of the message that came across my mind. He talks about how "if I had 100 grand might be enough to get me out the gutter, get the law off my back and keep me out of trouble." The fact that these inmates are hoping for a future out of prison and away from crime shows that they can redeem themselves if they only had the resources to do so. The bad part was that this man thought he needed 100 grand to get off the streets. I believe that even with hopes and the will power to get out of prison that doesn’t stop someone from committing crimes in the future. At the end of his song he sings about how he "might go off the deep end and spend it all this weekend". Prisons need better rehabilitating programs. Ones that help people understand themselves and the people around them. Ones that help people manage money or invest in stocks for example. These inmates hope for the future instead of working with programs to help them PLAN for the future.
Back to inmate "Doc" near 26 min in the video he was asked when returning to consciousness on the floor of the of his cell "why you doin this," with the response "I tried to talk, but nobody wanted to listen." He was then asked if he talked to mental health and he responded, " I tried to get Sarge to get them... He ignored me." He said he was in fear of his life because the nurse hit him and Sarge threatened him. Even if those statements are lies he feels that the people in charge of him care nothing about his life. The nurse states "He's going back to his cell as soon as I put a dressing on it." Not seeming to care at all why he did it. They all seem to think he's trying to get something out of doing this when maybe all he wants are just better living conditions. Prisons are people. Our systems need to accomedate to their lives! Each person is a different person. Systematic punishments don’t work for everyone and Germany understands that better than we do.
For those who don’t understand the German System of Justice it is focused more on a basis of "every life matters" and that criminal offense are view first as a conflict between individuals or communities and the offenders. Only then is considered a violation against the state. How Germany handles the offenders is where the big differences come in. Restorative Justice: International Perspectives, edited by B Galaway and J Hudson describes the second and third stages of the system to be aimed to create peace in communities by "reconciling the parties and repairing the injuries caused by the dispute". This second step is what happens when deciding the sentencing of the criminal and how willing he/she is to change or pay dues. The third stage described in the book was that "the criminal justice process should facilitate active participation by victims, offenders, and their communities in order to find solutions to the conflict." This third part is the section of Germany's system that needs to be copied.
To get a better understanding for what those second and third steps mean there will be distinct differences in how prisoners are treated and what they are able to do/ forced to do in prison. The biggest difference in the two systems (Germany's and the US's) is the actual living conditions of the prisoners. The closest comparison is how I was treated in the inpatient center near where I live, ony better Prisoners are allowed keys to their own rooms (which I wasn't allowed) and notice my term there, "room". I wouldn’t even consider their living quarters as a cell since they have; a door, a real bed, and a clean probably private toilet. They are allowed to play video games or watch almost any channel on TV. They can walk around or exercise freely (however I would assume with supervision).
Now the part that is really interesting is how Germany got such a low recidivism rate when we see such high rates of reincarceration. They have specific programs and facilities designated to such things as required meditation or yoga, different types of therapy such as psychotherapy or CBT which helps people become more in-tuned with themselves and how they work. Germany also puts a high amount of stress on the prisons themselves to educate the convicts on what they did wrong, how it effected themselves AND the people they comited the crime to. But they also teach criminals how to apply for jobs they also can be educated on how to manage money, how to find new things that they enjoy doing, activities or groups that they can be a part of that will help them get back on their feet and into society. That should be the objective of our justice system; to restore those who have wronged and helped them see the right way and to help them understand how to succeed rather resort to crime.