I feel most everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

I think it depends on the crime and of course the person. There are people out there that go to jail, get out, and then end up back in there because they simply didn't learn their lesson, or maybe they feel safer behind bars because it's a controlled environment or because they are institutionalized?

Others may end up in jail and never go back. Their stay was a powerful intervention and they learned it was a great place to visit, but not a nice place to live.

I for some reason have great sympathy for people who get caught doing something illegal, but the only reason they did it was because it was the only way they could feed/support their family. I'm not talking about hardcore crimes, but simple things like poaching or shoplifting a package of hamburger. With today's economy, I'm surprised we are not seeing more people having to resort to this to get by.

I have heard that there is no amount of jail time or rehabilitation treatment (non surgical that is) that makes a person who commits sex crimes stop. I feel these people should be locked up forever and tortured daily, especially those people that abuse children.

maybe i'm a bit biased.. but it realy depends on the person.

My uncle Pat... SUPER nice guy.. but just can't seem to get his life straight. He's always either running from the cops or in jail for drugs or theft. Everytime get goes in, he calls my grandmother and begs her for money, sometimes hundreds at a time... she caves. When he gets out and needs a place to live.. my mom always caves.. he ends up on her couch not working eating her out of house and home, watching TV and never showering. The little bit of money he DOES scrounge up (And yes i mean scrounge) he spends on drugs. My younger brother found a hypodermic needle under the edge of the couch once. After that i said never again and even though i love my uncle to death i wont allow him in my house to stay. He's been given so many chances all to lead back to the same outcome. Hes been in therapy, rehab, "rejuvenation centers" all of which never worked. Jail doesnt even seem to do the trick. He gets people to sneak him drugs and cigarettes to him. How? I dont know.. hes Mr Manipulate thats why.

He'll never change.

That doesnt mean we will stop trying.. thats love. Hes family. Hes blood.

Some people though.. ugh. Theres not an OUNCE of compassion in my BODY for sexual predators. If i could get away with terminating a human life the first person i would look for is somebody like John Couey. I have the deepest hatred for that man and anyone like him. I'm sorry Bobbie.. Its hard for me to hate. But people like that.. i cant help it.

was a man in England who actually trusted and believed in a woman who was sentenced to life in prison for sexually tormenting young people and murdering them.

He never gave up on her and even at the end of her life, she came to realize the horrific things she had done. We just don't normally consider women capable of crimes that viscious.

All we can do is protect our children and hopefully ourselves from being around people who can really do them and us harm. That is just survival.

What is the normal breakdown percentage wise for petty criminals, repeat offenders, child-molesters, hard-timers?

Our California Youth Authority school is closing down within the year as it has over 650 employees and there are now only 197 inmates. They plan to turn it into a women's prison for women within one year of their release. Always money to be made in the prison business. They are competing with a number of other counties who want the contract. I am not saying it is wrong. People make mistakes and the state has to take over to remove them from the streets.

You have so much compassion in you. Even though Patrick is a total manipulator, and you can see it, your Grandmother and Mother have to see it, but they keep hoping to help him. He is like a lot of people who won't take responsibility. Something happened to them a long time ago to make them think they can go through life charming people, and, in Patrick's case, convincing himself he deserves chance after chance only he must feel inside very scared and lost that maybe one day none of you are going to buy into his **** anymore.

Your Grandmother and Mother deserve more. So do you. I don't blame you. There is no way I would allow him in my house with those two precious babies of yours.

if it came down to it, and he had no where to go i know i would cave. I would go above and beyond for my family.. they are the only family i have, and can never get back. I love Pat to death.. hes SO over protective of me too.. he knows what i've been through with my past relationships before Rob and hes always guarded making sure Rob doesnt hurt me. I know he wont but Pat still looks out.
I miss him.

It is the heart in us that loves and can forgive. It is the survival part of us that wants all of our loved ones to be alright. It is a really hard call.

My brother used to torment my mother and father. I recognized that and swore I would never let him do that to me or my husband and children. My parents are long gone and he is still tormenting my only brother and his family with his little games. They, too, say, no more and it is off for a few months only to have it come back up again. I think the proper diagnosis is mental illness with whatever variety it is.

Everybody has to do what they are able to do. Do what you can. No more or no less. When it starts to impact your life in a really negative way, consider your options and the effects it is having on you and your immediate family. Just given to you with respect and it is only my opinion.

I have personally known many exinmates who have left the prison system to seek out other lives. They have jobs, some have started their own families; gone back to families they have before.
Every person deserves dignity and respect.

Few things annoy me more then finding out that some local employer is paying people less for a job then he does others and excusing himself with "He's a con, its all he deserves" no Profanity removed its not!! If we are to truly rehabilitate our offenders we need to recognize them as actual people.
I read the story here about the uncle and my response?
So Freaking What!! There are plenty of people like that who've never done time. While I feel sympathy for your mother she is the one allowing it; enabling it. To quote Elenor Roosevelt "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission".

Your right Roberta; serial rapists and repeat sexual offenders are not the majority of the people in prisons


Table 23. The Frequency of Crime Seriousness by Crime.
Crime Seriousness Scale
Crime Total
Arson 43
Assault 753
Burglary 1,042
Driving 1,258
Drug Delivery/Mfg 2,313
Drug Possession 4,087
Forgery/Fraud 446
Homicide 98
Other 1,262
Other Person 406
Other Property 169
Other Sex 277
Rape/Sodomy 315
Robbery 541
Theft/MV Theft 2,231
Total 15,241
Source
You are right Roberta; sex crimes are the minority so looking at this scale we clearly see the property and drug crimes are more prevalent then sex crimes and homocides.
In prison we treat people for drug problems including the problems that lead to a choice to use drugs to do otherwise only deals with a small part of the problem and creates a cycle of crime / imprisonment / release / reoffend.
Again.. using this model of treating the criminogenic factors behind the drug use we have far more success in reducing future victims which we will call recidivism.

I am highly successful in my career because I never lose sight of one important factor: I work with people.

I will grant they have done some stupid things, annoying things, horrific things but in the end they are people and it is why my units don't riot, why I have few fights, why they trust me to solve a problem. Its called respect and it needs to be given to be gotten.
Treating people without respect or dignity will only lead to more problems not solve the ones we have.

And how many mentally ill individuals that belong in treatment!?

Unfortunately with all of the budget cuts many people who should be in treatment facilities to help them handle their mental illness are in jails with guards who have no idea about Mental Health issues. They don't get the meds they need to help their symptoms, they don't get the counseling or support that they need to function in a positive manner. It's a real shame.
That is how it is here anyway. In my area many many agencies that provide outreach or housing services to the Mentally ill have had to close, because of the huge cuts to that area.

It is good to see it in black and white and those statistics tell it like it is. Certainly a majority are drug related offences.

Are prisoners who have committed homicide, sexual assault, kept segregated from the rest of the prison population?

"Respect, it needs to be given to be gotten." Well said, Jincks.

I don't have exact numbers handy I"ll check them at work tomarrow but prison is the dumping ground for people who cannot live 'outside' without assistance. As state's budgets for mental health shrinks our prison populations do grow and prison becomes the safety net for the mentally unhealthy and developementally disabled.
I have a few, about 5, inmates that have regular therapy sessions, group therapy, take psychotropics, about 5 more who are mildly retarded to severely developementally disabled.

It's about 1.25 million in the US.

That is a pretty high number since out current prison population (at least as of dec 2006) is 2,258,983 incarcerated persons. Anyone else see the warehousing effect for America's mentally challenged / mentally disabled here?

I feel that child molesters and rapists deserve the removal of their genitals with no anesthetic and being raped in return, every day for the rest of their lives. I don't care how "sorry" they are and I don't care if they conveniently find "God" once they are in trouble. They have murdered spirits and destroyed lives and frankly I feel the system is too lenient on them. However I believe that it must be proven beyond a doubt before such punishment is merited.

Religion and redemption are too often used as convenient ways to convince society that one is sorry. My own sister is a primary example. She gets into trouble with drugs, stealing or driving while intoxicated and suddenly she's the Golden Girl of God. Then she manages to get bailed out of her crap and it's back to the same old using, stealing from family and destruction.

Certain people can and do redeem themselves but there's no way in hell I'm going to trust in that for the sake of human spirit. There's got to be proof and as far as I'm concerned there are some things that can never be redeemed.

I have an entirely jaded view of the abrahamic religions when it comes to inmates. I know many who are never seen without a bible; go to church on sundays (yes this happens behind bars) and based on the fact the church populations in my area do not swell with released inmates I doubt the sincerity once released.
That is my one true prejudice and I have reams of examples; write up; reports and files to back me up.

I know it works for some of the inmates and gives them the necessary higher authority they need to control their lives and choices but I also know there is no cure for a sexual predator.
It isn't possible to 'cure' them. Only to control them.

Jincks, do you seperate the serious felons from the rest of the prison population who have committed less serious crimes?

Are there certain levels as far as treating the inmates with more concern? It would seem that the really hardened criminal, one who has committed homicide, a rapist (is it true that other inmates really hate a child molester and will go for them), would be more of a threat to the prison population in general than say some guy in there for a DUI, thieft, arson, drug possession and even assault? It seems assault can be a bar fight or the like, here again, drug related.

Thanks for educating us on these matters Jincks.

Thats a loaded question. No we don't seperate too much but there is the classification system.
Minimum custody are inmates with less serious, usually property or drug crimes with less then 5 years to do who have a good behavior pattern while incarcerated.
Medium is for more serious crimes and larger amounts of time to serve. You will find many sex predator in this range as well.
Close is where you will find many murderers and life sentences.
Max is where the hard core are like the gang leads, multiple or particularly henious murderers and people who have demonstraited a violent tendency are held. Death row is only found in maximum security facilities.

Lately because of the aging of prison populations we have new geriatric facilities and some that seperate sex offenders from the rest of the general population and then we have Special Management Units where we put our baddies who fight, smuggle in contraband and break the prison rules; we have a more serious version for the ones who do things like instigate riots.

Prison is a microcosm of its own; a mini society if you will with certain prestige breakdowns. Child molesters are just about the bottom of that barrell and people who harm children for gain; like homicide their children for the insurance money.

To be able to help anyone, you have to know where they are coming from.

Thanks for the information Jincks.

everyone is different, every circumstance is different...people always want to just throw everyone into the pile and say we are all the same...