When did imprisonment become more about comfort than punishment? Seriously, a person in jail should not have the right to complain about cockroaches, and he should certainly not be paid $1000 in compensation. Think a situation like that is too crazy to be true? Well, you’re wrong.
This isn’t really an unusual thing, either. Inmates in American prisons may suffer from overcrowding (due to the reluctance of judges and juries to slap death penalties on criminals, even where it’s still allowed) but they get better food and health care than a sizable portion of the American public. They’re even catered to if they want vegan diets. Uh, what? If you commit a crime, you deserve every bit of unwanted mystery meat you get. Punishment, remember?
If we can’t execute murders and rapists, they should at least be put in a place where they can reflect on the crimes they’ve committed instead of reading books, interacting with other dangerous criminals, or working out. Imprisonment is supposed to be a deterrent first, a punishment second, and a good thing never. If people know they aren’t going to have a good time in prison, they’ll be less likely to commit a crime. If they commit one anyways and get caught, they shouldn’t like being in prison. The ultimate intent there is that they don’t want to come back. Unfortunately (for law-abiding citizens, not for the criminals), prisons aren’t necessarily horrible places to be. Sure, you’ve got to put up with the gangs and riots and stuff like that, but having a bed and three square meals is more than some people have outside of prison. There’s something seriously wrong when a murderer can have a better life than a Vietnam veteran living on the streets of Seattle. Hell, “seriously wrong” is an understatement.
I suppose the main reason inmates have it so good is to avoid the appearance of cruelty. Amnesty International is good at playing that card. But take a good look at some of the people in prison. Why do they deserve better than the people they raped or tortured? I don’t care about the “turn the other cheek” sentiment. Monsters don’t deserve lives. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
