A Different Prison System.

It seems obvious that the prisons are hardly a place to be rehabilated, and that the prison environment is full of fear, hate, and anger. In part this is due to the very nature of some of the prisoners mindset when they get in, but it is excaberated by the stabbings and rapes that take place.

An idea that I had, and just wish to put forward, even if it may be a bit absurd, is a prison where all the occupants are placed within solitary confinement. The rooms would be strong, tough, comfortable, soundproof, viewless, and free of any extra paraphenalia that was unnecessary. It may just have a futon and a pillow.

A couple times a week, a meditation teacher would come and teach any who wished to be taught. In this, it would be very similar to a meditation retreat, where people do not talk to anyone but the meditation teacher, and they are left to practice the meditations, getting very familiar with their minds. They may understand better mindfulness, the emotions, fantasies, and what kind of thoughts brought them anger, and what kind brought them feelings of peace, gratitude, etc.

The inmates would be carefully measured using a fMRI when they arrived, and measured in terms of how they progressed in their meditations.

At least within such a prison system, no one would ever need worry about being stabbed, raped, humiliated, or some other, and as I said before, they would have the chance to get intimate with thier minds, free of any sort of distractions.

Feel free to take this apart, or even agree, or just post your own ideas as to how a prison system would be improved.

Your idea is interesting Revenant. I don't really know what to say about it, so I will just post my own thoughts.

I don't believe in punishment for its own sake, but only as a means to the end of rehabilitation.

I think prison should be a place for people who need to be removed for the protection of society. So I don't think fraudsters or tax-evaders, for example, should be imprisoned.

I think sentences should reflect the length of time it would take to rehabilitate the prisoner, although I'm not sure how this would be determined.

I don't think prisons should be unnecessarily unpleasant. I think prisoners should be treated humanely and given basic comforts, as I think this will aid their rehabilitation. Discomfort is likely to make them irritable, for example.

I don't believe prisoners should be idle in their cells for 23 hours a day. They should be making contributions to society and to self-improvement, just like any citizen. So prisoners should work for their keep and should be educated.

Criminals should pay compensation to their victims, although I'm not sure what form this would take.

Prisoners should be rewarded for good behaviour, such as showing remorse or working hard. This could be extra privileges. I'm dubious about parole though, especially if sentences are based on a rehabilitation schedule.

I think prisoners should be released to a half-way house, helped into employment and kept occupied, before being slowly allowed more freedom.

Tsuyoiko said:

I don't believe in punishment for its own sake, but only as a means to the end of rehabilitation.

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That's why I don't believe in prisons. Some prisons destroy the personality of those who still have good in them, and act as a meeting place for some criminals to organise gangs for when they get out. Like Revenant said, some prisons are "hell on earth", and some lesser criminals just don't deserve to go there.

I think prison should be a place for people who need to be removed for the protection of society. So I don't think fraudsters or tax-evaders, for example, should be imprisoned.

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Yes, while violent criminals with a heavy past and little chance to change should be lobotomised to "calm them down" (even if they stay in jail, although there would be little point in keeping them there after that).

:blush: The given question begins with the "original cause" of dissociation of a society going to disagreements and criminality - at all of us different " starting conditions " ocurrences during this life (social, financial, psychological, etc. a condition of families in which we are born)... All begins With it... Chaos of our world...

When I was researching the Biblical slavery topic, I was a bit surprised to see that slavery was the more common mode of punishment for crimes of property and person. I don't know if something like this could be made to work today: some type of social indentured servitude.

sabro said:

When I was researching the Biblical slavery topic, I was a bit surprised to see that slavery was the more common mode of punishment for crimes of property and person. I don't know if something like this could be made to work today: some type of social indentured servitude.

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If we remove the whips and chains, I think we could have some criminals to do some public work for the government. What about have them help for public works, like road building or other tax-consuming government projects ? (not eductaion of course )

sabro said:

some type of social indentured servitude.

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Maciamo said:

What about have them help for public works, like road building or other tax-consuming government projects ? (not eductaion of course )

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That's such an obviously good idea I don't understand why it's not more widely used. There's no reason why they couldn't work in education, if they have the skills - 'behind the scenes', of course.

The problem you have there revenant is money. It would simply cost too much for a programme like that. As far as I know, most governments are spending for on prisons than education already.
$32 billion dollars in the states a year. In, what they think to be the cheapest way to run a prison.
The $22,000 cost a year pre inmate now, may rise to $30 / $40,000.

And judges who?... It is already similar to schizophrenia - "slavery", "social activities", etc... " Do not judge,and not judge will be to you ...:box: