This is one reason I'm in favor of what the sheriff Joe Arpaio is doing in Maricopa County, AZ. He's one of the few law enforcement officers that seems to realize that making jail a miserable experience might actually make it a deterrent. You can read about him
here and
here.
Recently, on the radio, they said that America had just hit a landmark, where 1% of all adult males was actually incarcerated. We've become a prison state... and the problem is that the criminals are the ones benefiting from it.
Most convicted criminals get three square meals a day, a roof over their heads, free health care—which often covers even elective procedures like sex changes and dental care, free cable or satellite TV, free access to educational materials, and free access to weight room facilities—and we, the public end up paying for all this.
Is it any wonder that we have one of the highest recidivism rates in the world. Most prisons are graduate schools from criminals, and the convicts come out stronger and better trained than when they went in. There is little done in the way of making time in prison a deterrent for the majority of convicted criminals, and even less done in the way of rehabilitation or training them to become productive members of society.
I say pick a big patch of land out in the desert, ring it with landmines and armed guard towers and then throw the bastards in there with basic supplies. If they want food or housing... let them make it for themselves. They chose to live outside our society's laws...why should we provide for them?
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