I don't agree with the venom being shown toward prisoners here.
I have no flowery illusions about prisoners. I've worked with them, and with guards. I have absolutely no illusions about prisoners, or about crime. My car was stolen, and all my belongings in the car, my identity, my privacy, my security, everything, my car was ruined. I've been knocked down and robbed. I've been attacked. I witnessed two teenagers mug an old lady and take her purse and knock her to the ground in the snow. I saw two men roll a drunk in broad daylight at a bus station. I went to the floor of my car when there was a shooter with a gun on the corner when I was driving home and the traffic was so bad I could not drive away from him. An acquaintance of mine was killed in an office by a robber. My mother was killed by an idiot driving a car. My best friend's girlfriend was stabbed by a guy from her home town on the day before Christmas.
I have no illusions about criminals, prisons, or the legal system.
I do agree with the rules that guards don't have to go in until they are backed up properly, and safe themselves. I want them to stay out of harm's way when possible.
I don't want the prisoners to have a 'go' at each other, though, whenever it can be stopped, I want it stopped. And as quickly as possible.
There are people in prison who have a chance to change or who are in there for reasons that aren't quite what people expect, I see no reason in killing any of them off with brutality.
Many criminals won't (my car was stolen by a many-time criminal, many times convicted and jailed, too). But there are some that will.
Research studies show, that the more the violence in the prison is controlled and minimized, the better the mental health of the staff that work there. It is not just about prisoners. It is about the people who have to work there, all kinds of people, administrators, therapists, guards, everyone. It's about their families.
When they are given the ability to keep the prison as decent a place as they can, and still be safe themselves, they have less suicide, less acoholism, and less depression among the staff. They are under less stress when there is less violence around them.
In prisons where the prisoner violence goes on more unchecked, there is far more stress in the staff.
And not everyone is there for the same reasons.
Friend of mine went to prison for shooting someone that robbed him. He went back and got a gun, he had gotten mugged four or five times on that street, he just had it. So it was not self defense, and he had to go to prison. He got seven years, it was the least amount of time the judge could give him, so we were told.
All his friends were very grateful when he came home in one piece. He was a skinny little blond and some very bad things happened to him in prison.
Without the help of the staff there, a lot more bad things would have happened. I'm glad they were there, and keeping the rules.
