So You Live on the Streets.
Imagine living on the streets. You don’t have a warm bed, or possibly not even a shelter at all. You have to hunt for food and savor what little bit you do find because some days there may not be any food at all. If you get sick, you have to diagnose and treat yourself because healthcare is only a distant dream. Now think about your buddy who got arrested last week for murdering a man for his coat. He is in a prison facility that never gets too cold, or too hot for comfort. He has his own little area with his own bed and is open to free medical exams whenever he feels ill. His meals are prepared for him and his “room” is cleaned for him anytime it gets dirty. Thinking about it, despite the restrictions of prison, many inmates feel that they are doing much better in prison than they would be doing on the streets. Are prison facilities getting too soft? Taxpayers are paying to keep inmates in comfortable conditions. People should be wondering if the prison system is giving criminals more of a reason to want to be lock up rather than to do what’s right in society’s eyes.
Donal Kelleher, an inmate in Europe boasts about the luxuries he has in prison. He spoke to The Telegraph about how he thoroughly enjoys prison life. Kelleher tells of how he is paid to study math programs and he is able to put that money towards cigarettes, chocolate, and other “luxury goods”. He also tells of how he enjoys the food and all the accommodations grated to him as an inmate of HMP Cardiff. Guards from this facility even talk about what all the inmates do with their time is play computer games, and watch TV. This inmate wasn’t convicted for theft crimes or for other small crimes, but for stabbing his wife multiple times in her chest and back. Kelleher clearly states that he is doing “better off inside”. Despite being convicted for such serious crimes, some inmates are look at prison as though it is a better life for them.
Why shouldn’t inmates view prison as a blessing? They are not being hanged for their crimes, or shot by a lethal injection. Instead they are being given a rather clean environment, new clothes and hygiene products and healthy meals on a daily basis. A standard guideline for Tennessee correctional facilities states what seem to be luxuries to me. Prison facilities shall not have a temperature lower than 65 degrees and no higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit and each cell has forced air ventilation systems. On hot summer days when working class America is fighting the heat to try not to have high utility bills, inmates are comfortable and content without paying a dime. Vending machines are even offered providing snacks that inmates can access by identification cards that are given out at some prisons according to Behind Bars. Prisoners are also offered one hour of physical exercise a day at least three times a week. That’s more than most of the law abiding citizens get within their own weeks. When an inmate’s cell gets dirty, it is sanitized immediately. How many citizens’ homes are kept constantly clean, cost and work free? Inmates also receive free medical exams and physicians can even require the prison facilities to allow special diets to specified prisoners. School is another aspect offered to inmates. They can obtain a high-school diploma as well as take college level classes. According to Prison Life in America, prisons are even viewed as communities or a small town. This doesn’t sound as harsh and intimidating as prisons should be.
Being behind bars has its downfalls, and it is certainly not a cake walk, but compared to the lives some of the inmates had on the outside, it sure seems luxurious. Instead of fighting the harsh winters and praying for a dry place to sleep, people from the street could be thinking about how many privileges they would be given for committing a terrible crime. Taxpayers need to revise what exactly prison is and what they should be paying for.
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