Inhumane compared to whom? And why limit your scope to the "1st world countries" only? You really want to debate the "pieces" of other systems that you deem "good" or "better" than ours as a comparision? Even if we were to implement all the "good pieces" it would not necessarily make a better "whole" automatically. Having worked in the computer industry for the past 8 years, I've seen enough "best-of-breed" solutions cause more headaches than good....is that what you're proposing?
Also systems vary from society to society - that doesn't make one "better than" the other, it just makes them different. Why do people insist on talking about differences in terms of better or worse? When you get to the bottom of it, its just a matter of perspective. And since its the people who define that perspective - guess what, wherever you go in the world, its different - amazing huh? Sure we're all human so therefore should have all the same perspective but that's not the case now is it?
I mean a snowflake is a snowflake but they are all individually different right? So if I have 100 snowflakes in one hand and another 100 snowflakes in my other hand, I have 2 handfuls of snowflakes! But since each snowflake is individually different in shape, design or size - the characteristics of each hand of snowflakes is not exactly identical. Therefore while I can expect them to act/react the same since we're talking about snowflakes, in reality they shouldn't. So you can find a "common denominator" within anything since you've dug deep down, separating the components in doing so the problem one confronts is are you still comparing the "whole" or the minute components?
But I digress - IMO Inmates in the US have the opportunity to get their GED, learn technical crafts, get drug-counseling, medical treatment and I haven't even gotten to the cable TV, 3 hot meals-a-day, congecal visits (in some cases), spirtiual meetings and they still maintain many of their civil rights even while incarcerated! Now I'm not saying that they have it good and prision isn't there to strip them to nothingness which would create a bigger problem for society. Let's remember, they are "paying their due", this is PUNISHMENT for their actions.
Some time ago we realized that we needed rehabilitation too to make this system successful.And in some places, that rehabilitation is seen as "being soft on crime". I believe that is not a good characterization. Rehabilitation is working towards the issues that create the crime - at least in theory. So making prisions "harder time" isn't the answer to deterring crime and I believe would just create "harder criminals". I already believe our current system breeds harder criminals.
And yes I'd safely say that our current prison system could use some improvements but its a far cry from many of the systems across the world in terms of humane care. I am certain that one could find some good in ANY penal system of the world but taken on a whole, I believe the system in the US is pretty good and humane. |
