How would your ideal prison system be?

[wnwnwn]

Well, this comes from a country where only country level penal legislation exist...
In my ideal prison system, each type of crime would have its own prison, altrought in as most cases as possible separated by 'degrees'. That way, petty thieves who didn't use guns would be separated from hitmans and drugdealers.
Hate criminals would have their own spaces...
Each prisoner would be on individual cells with a TV and a toilet. Out of that, the prison would try to be an space different from where most criminals come front. For a peruvian case, a prison would play classical music and jazz all day. Also, it would support productive activities. Prisoners in their first two years would be forced to learn a trade. Then, they would be forced to work in a workshop 3/4 days a week.
The prison would give food to its population. A breakfast would be a piece of bread with avocado (cheap down here) and a cup of water. A lunch would be salad, legumes and chicken in a plate and another cup of water. A dinner would be some fried rice (with eggs) and another cup of water. Well, there would be special foods in some days. Prisoners with allergies would have special food for them.
I don't thing it would be much of a good idea to detail the levels of security needed for this.

[vitoNova]

Forced labor, frequent beatings, and a diet consisting solely of water, rice, and hardtack.

None of this Playstation and free daily manicures like in those weirdo Scandinavian countries. 

[HisGrace]

One with Trump in it.

[wnwnwn]

Well, this comes from a country where only country level penal legislation exist...
In my ideal prison system, each type of crime would have its own prison, altrought in as most cases as possible separated by 'degrees'. That way, petty thieves who didn't use guns would be separated from hitmans and drugdealers.
Hate criminals would have their own spaces...
Each prisoner would be on individual cells with a TV and a toilet. Out of that, the prison would try to be an space different from where most criminals come front. For a peruvian case, a prison would play classical music and jazz all day. Also, it would support productive activities. Prisoners in their first two years would be forced to learn a trade. Then, they would be forced to work in a workshop 3/4 days a week.
The prison would give food to its population. A breakfast would be a piece of bread with avocado (cheap down here) and a cup of water. A lunch would be salad, legumes and chicken in a plate and another cup of water. A dinner would be some fried rice (with eggs) and another cup of water. Well, there would be special foods in some days. Prisoners with allergies would have special food for them.
I don't thing it would be much of a good idea to detail the levels of security needed for this.

My ideas prison would be more focused on reeducation than on punishment, but it wouldn't be cookie cuttier. It would have TV, but that would only pass historic films and some propaganda. I would put a gym and maybe a fronton court, but zero association football camps. Soccer balls would be forbidden.
I would put any prisoner an Electronic tagging for geolocalization. Also, I would put them various shock bracelets and a mini cam with them. Maybe prisoners would feel tranquil as they avoid fights and getting hurt, but there would be a strict lenguage code: no swearing and some slang would be forbidden too.
The idea is to make a different enviorment from when they come from. Making a harsh poor place is just repeating what's outside from when most prisoners come from.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

-Maximum sentence is 24 years, renewable by the government if the prisoner is still a risk to society
-No death penalty
-All prisoners have at least 240 square feet to themselves and at least 4 hours out of their cells per day.
-All prisoners get at least three nutritious meals per day
-Minimum wage applies to prisoners

[Ferguson97]

- Eliminate the death penalty
- Eliminate solitary confinement
- Ensure adequate conditions (clean cells, consistent heating/cooling, nutritious food)
- Opportunities for them to reform themselves inside so they can be productive members of society upon release

[Vice President Christian Man]

I favor rehabilitation over punishment in most cases, but the California system has been a total failure so I wouldn't just want to lower punishments because of past injustices since that gives criminals a slap on the wrist. But the Norwegian system seems to be successful in providing help while lowering recidivism rates. I think that such a system should involve restorative justice and community service as well.

[John Dule]

1) Abolish the death penalty.

2) Abolish solitary confinement as a punishment, but preserve it in cases of severely violent prisoners who may pose a danger to others.

3) Abolish mandatory minimums and eliminate "three strikes" laws.

4) Abolish all forced prison labor. Any work done by prisoners must earn them money and must be entirely voluntary.

5) Abolish all prison sentences for victimless crimes.

6) Provide all prisons with libraries and vocational training.

7) Automatically restore voting rights for felons upon exiting prison.

8) Routine random unscheduled audits of prisons by defense attorneys and state officials. Prisoners would have the opportunity to speak with their attorney to alert them of any mistreatment (beatings, unsanitary living conditions, lack of time outside of their cells, poor food quality, etc).



I would keep life sentences because I do think there is a very narrow subset of individuals who are too dangerous to ever be let out (school shooters, serial killers, etc).

[VPH]

1. Abolish the death penalty.
2. Lengthen sentences for violent criminals and especially repeat offenders who commit crimes with a firearm. Lengthen sentences for drug traffickers. Chemical castration for sex offenders. At the same time, lessen the use of prison for simple possession of small amounts of drugs. I would prefer arrest + mandatory treatment.
3. Improved re-entry services for those exiting prison to help them make amends and better reintegrate into the community.
4. Far more funding for mental health assistance and rehab for prisoners who need it. Addressing the addiction and trauma in many prisoners' backgrounds will help people get on their feet when they come out.
5. Prison work should be compensated at a higher rate than pennies per hour. It can be below the minimum wage outside of prison, but it should be something.
6. Education needs to be prioritized to prevent recidivism--especially skilled labor/trades and financial literacy. But we should also do more to facilitate reading, art, music, gardening and other enjoyable yet educational outlets behind bars. There's no reason reading material should be prohibitively priced!
7. Abolish private prisons. Incarceration should be the role of the state, not of private enterprise.
8. Not necessarily from the state, but Christian groups should do more prison ministry. Putting people on a path of repentence and faith is helpful.
9. Use of solitary confinement should be rare and limited in time.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

In an ideal world (probably not possible in the United States today), prisons would be faith-run, and a key focus would be on developing and nurturing Christian faith to allow convicts to be completely changed by Jesus and repentant of the sin that led to their incarceration.

[Dr. MB]

In an ideal world (probably not possible in the United States today), prisons would be faith-run, and a key focus would be on developing and nurturing Christian faith to allow convicts to be completely changed by Jesus and repentant of the sin that led to their incarceration.

Do you think previously functionally non-religious inmates turning to Islam in prison is a positive development if it lets them pursue a straighter path in life?

[Dr. MB]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

1) Abolish the death penalty.

2) Abolish solitary confinement as a punishment, but preserve it in cases of severely violent prisoners who may pose a danger to others.

3) Abolish mandatory minimums and eliminate "three strikes" laws.

4) Abolish all forced prison labor. Any work done by prisoners must earn them money and must be entirely voluntary.

5) Abolish all prison sentences for victimless crimes.

6) Provide all prisons with libraries and vocational training.

7) Automatically restore voting rights for felons upon exiting prison.

8) Routine random unscheduled audits of prisons by defense attorneys and state officials. Prisoners would have the opportunity to speak with their attorney to alert them of any mistreatment (beatings, unsanitary living conditions, lack of time outside of their cells, poor food quality, etc).



I would keep life sentences because I do think there is a very narrow subset of individuals who are too dangerous to ever be let out (school shooters, serial killers, etc).

Mostly agreed with this.

Unsure about 3 because i don't know what three strikes means. And i'm not sure about abolishing mandatory minimums.

[John Dule]

In an ideal world (probably not possible in the United States today), prisons would be faith-run, and a key focus would be on developing and nurturing Christian faith to allow convicts to be completely changed by Jesus and repentant of the sin that led to their incarceration.

Congrats, you found a way to make the American prison experience even worse.

[lfromnj]

Paying min wage seems absurd considering they have no living expenses but lowering commissary prices makes sense.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

In an ideal world (probably not possible in the United States today), prisons would be faith-run, and a key focus would be on developing and nurturing Christian faith to allow convicts to be completely changed by Jesus and repentant of the sin that led to their incarceration.

Do you think previously functionally non-religious inmates turning to Islam in prison is a positive development if it lets them pursue a straighter path in life?

That's a good question.  It obviously wouldn't be my preferred outcome, but in a pluralistic society like the US today, I think that would have to be viewed as a positive sign.  I'm also against forced conversions (they're usually not even genuine), so I think that a deep faith in any mainstream religion would be a sign of being less of a threat to society when they're released.

[VBM]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

[VBM]

- Eliminate the death penalty
- Eliminate solitary confinement
- Ensure adequate conditions (clean cells, consistent heating/cooling, nutritious food)
- Opportunities for them to reform themselves inside so they can be productive members of society upon release

So basically, violent criminals should face no actual punishment?

[Dr. MB]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

[Ferguson97]

In an ideal world (probably not possible in the United States today), prisons would be faith-run, and a key focus would be on developing and nurturing Christian faith to allow convicts to be completely changed by Jesus and repentant of the sin that led to their incarceration.

Your ideal world is a dystopian, authoritarian nightmare.

[VBM]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

Sure, but their legal system should still be prepared to handle men like that. Obviously there's very few people who have committed murder on the scale he did, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in Scandanavia who have committed premeditated murder on 2+ people and should also be punished more severely than being forced to live in a college dorm for 21 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a story about how this guy complained how it was "inhumane" for him to not be able to play COD in prison, and the court actually ruled in his favor

[Dr. MB]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

Sure, but their legal system should still be prepared to handle men like that. Obviously there's very few people who have committed murder on the scale he did, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in Scandanavia who have committed premeditated murder on 2+ people and should also be punished more severely than being forced to live in a college dorm for 21 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a story about how this guy complained how it was "inhumane" for him to not be able to play COD in prison, and the court actually ruled in his favor

I mean the only real function of prison in my opinion should be to keep people who are a danger to society from being a danger to society. There's no need for extra punishment beyond that, doesn't matter if you're a mass shooter or serial killer. I don't really care if he's playing video games every day as long as he's not shooting anyone.

[VBM]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

Sure, but their legal system should still be prepared to handle men like that. Obviously there's very few people who have committed murder on the scale he did, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in Scandanavia who have committed premeditated murder on 2+ people and should also be punished more severely than being forced to live in a college dorm for 21 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a story about how this guy complained how it was "inhumane" for him to not be able to play COD in prison, and the court actually ruled in his favor

I mean the only real function of prison in my opinion should be to keep people who are a danger to society from being a danger to society. There's no need for extra punishment beyond that, doesn't matter if you're a mass shooter or serial killer. I don't really care if he's playing video games every day as long as he's not shooting anyone.

Adequate punishment is very important for disincentivizing people from committing these atrocious crimes. If you're some vile bigot who really wants to kill a bunch of minorities, you might think it's worth it to act on your urges if you'll only get such a light punishment for your actions. If you could be executed for doing that, than people will be much more disincentivized to not do so

[Dr. MB]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

Sure, but their legal system should still be prepared to handle men like that. Obviously there's very few people who have committed murder on the scale he did, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in Scandanavia who have committed premeditated murder on 2+ people and should also be punished more severely than being forced to live in a college dorm for 21 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a story about how this guy complained how it was "inhumane" for him to not be able to play COD in prison, and the court actually ruled in his favor

I mean the only real function of prison in my opinion should be to keep people who are a danger to society from being a danger to society. There's no need for extra punishment beyond that, doesn't matter if you're a mass shooter or serial killer. I don't really care if he's playing video games every day as long as he's not shooting anyone.

Adequate punishment is very important for disincentivizing people from committing these atrocious crimes. If you're some vile bigot who really wants to kill a bunch of minorities, you might think it's worth it to act on your urges if you'll only get such a light punishment for your actions. If you could be executed for doing that, than people will be much more disincentivized to not do so

And yet Norway still has far less violent criminals than the United States does, where prison conditions are more severe and where the death penalty actually exists

[VBM]

Ideally prison would be used as little as possible. In the rare cases where it would exist it would be run similarly to Norway or Sweden.

Norway’s prison system is way too soft. That guy who killed 80 people (most of them being children) got only a 21 year sentence and basically gets to live in a college dorm

You're using the most extreme example to justify putting people who've done far less bad things in worse conditions.

Also he's a special case and his sentence is probably gonna be extended indefinitely.

Sure, but their legal system should still be prepared to handle men like that. Obviously there's very few people who have committed murder on the scale he did, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in Scandanavia who have committed premeditated murder on 2+ people and should also be punished more severely than being forced to live in a college dorm for 21 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a story about how this guy complained how it was "inhumane" for him to not be able to play COD in prison, and the court actually ruled in his favor

I mean the only real function of prison in my opinion should be to keep people who are a danger to society from being a danger to society. There's no need for extra punishment beyond that, doesn't matter if you're a mass shooter or serial killer. I don't really care if he's playing video games every day as long as he's not shooting anyone.

Adequate punishment is very important for disincentivizing people from committing these atrocious crimes. If you're some vile bigot who really wants to kill a bunch of minorities, you might think it's worth it to act on your urges if you'll only get such a light punishment for your actions. If you could be executed for doing that, than people will be much more disincentivized to not do so

And yet Norway still has far less violent criminals than the United States does, where prison conditions are more severe and where the death penalty actually exists

That’s due to plenty of other factors