Inside Death Row-Did you watch? -Opinions.

[vaniilla]

America has the highest prison population in the world, that alone speaks volumes.

 

[Scottish mum]

Your right But there is support out there however it's up to the indavidual to partake! Even if they go to court for committing a crime and are know to the system they are still offered support by attending a bail meeting and if they breach the meetings by not turning up they may find themselves in jail!! So support is even being forced on them. I'm aware that you have to want to help yourself but it's not like they are not given a chance! X

 

[Scottish mum]

Is there any statistical proof that countries with less human rights, harsher prisons and the death penalty even have lower reoffending rates?

Not sure about this one but I would think looking at countries who do have the death penalty also have looser laws in regards to firearms! I don't think that for some even death row is a deterrent! There will always be people out there who will commit crime and I supose that will never change but it's how we deal with them that counts! In retrospect we are lucky in the uk I supose for having some kind of system I mean look at countries like Iran? X

 

[nicki01]

I don't agree with death penalty, personally I think anyone who has commited unspeakable crimes (murder, peaodophiles etc) should be locked away and punished, loose their rights to luxuries like tv, video gAmes and entertainment) I strongly believe that you should loose your human rights when you take a life or commit such a horrid crime!
Prison should be a place noone wants to be and would never want to ever go back there!

If anyone where to hurt my family I would not want them dead, I would want them to suffer and be reminded every day that they lost their rights to a normal life the day they commited the crime!

Hope that makes sense! I understand it a tough one to debate and I don't think there will ever be right decision, if only these things didn't happen! The world can be a horrid place!

 

[Natsku]

Is there any statistical proof that countries with less human rights, harsher prisons and the death penalty even have lower reoffending rates?

There's statistical proof of the opposite! Countries with more rights and less harsh prisons have lower recidivism rates. You treat people like humans and maybe they will turn into humans.

I absolutely disagree with the death penalty.

 

[fantastica]

Didn't watch it, might try and find it online though.

I am completely against the death penalty, it just does not have a place in modern society. I can see why people think if someone takes a life then they should pay with theirs, but it doesn't even work that way...innocent people are locked up all the time, and the slightest possibility that one person could be put to death and be innocent makes it an unworthwhile thing to me. There's several cases in the US of people with extremely low IQs being sentenced to death row, people that could not have the mental capacity to understand fully what they did, and people who were minors when they committed crimes.

As for prisoners liking prison and wanting to go back, I really think that says something about where they came from, many of them have absolutely nothing to go to once they are released, I can see why they may re-offend. Many become insitutionalised, it is not as simple as prison simply being a 'holiday camp'.

Of course they should be offered qualifications and access to tv (they actually have to earn anything above the usual channels), if not, what will they do when they get out? Just reoffend because they haven't even been offered the chance to better themselves? I'm sure most of the activities are also a way of pacifying the inmates...imagine being a prison guard with a load of violent inmates who are also extremely bored haha?!

Prison is NOT fun. Okay, you have a tv and can do a couple of courses, but you still have no freedom, you have limited communication with your families and are locked up in a small cell for the majority of your day. Of course that is what comes with committing a crime, but what is the alternative? Personally, I think prisons should be more about rehabilitation than punishment as such, i'm sure there would be lower re-offending rates if more effort went into rehabilitating prisoners back into society.

And for anyone hell bent on murdering someone, the death penalty will not act as a deterrent, it's entirely pointless.

It's also very easy to say how we would feel if we were the victim's family, but what if we were the criminal's family? Prisoner's families suffer much more than anyone realises.

 

[Scottish mum]

I do understand what you are saying and I may sound very synical but i disagree jail is not what it should be!!! It's not strict enough alot of reoffenders don't care if they
go back to jail it has no
impact and they are offerd
support in jail but IT'S NOT
WORKING.!!! They get a chance to earn money, have education but it doesn't stop half of them!! We need to be strict! I don't necessarily think death row should be something to consider but I do think we need to do something! X

 

[Scottish mum]

I have to add that jails were never built for rehabilitation!! That's rehab!

Yes we do already offer support but like I said it doesn't work most of the time x

 

[Natsku]

You keep saying that prisons need to be stricter to stop people reoffending but the evidence shows that it doesn't work that way. You can't argue with facts (well you can argue, but its pointless).

 

[Scottish mum]

Haha not really an argument its a good old debate! look at prisons today there's your answer! It's not working! X

 

[Natsku]

I agree that they are not working in the UK but I think thats because they are not doing enough to rehabilitate prisoners not because they are not being strict enough. They do a lot lot more here and it, on the whole (there is always a core group of people who reoffend time and time again, there is no hope for them really and I'm not sure what should be done for that minority), it works.

 

[sue_88]

No I didn't watch it, I did know it was on though.

I personally think it is wrong that we put cameras into prisons like that. Those people are murderers, child murderers, rapists and everything else wrong with the world - why on earth should we put their face on TV and give them any publicity. It's wrong.

They have been sentenced to death for a very good reason, and once sentenced should be forgotten about.

I realise I have a stong opinion, and I am glad in the UK we have moved away from the death penatly.....but my opinion standard for all prisions. No publicity - Gordon Ramsey making a programme about cooking in a prision wrong.

 

[fantastica]

I have to add that jails were never built for rehabilitation!! That's rehab!

Yes we do already offer support but like I said it doesn't work most of the time x

I know they weren't, but obviously the way things are working at the moment, I think more should be focused on it. Not sure how, but it needs to be looked at. Stricter prisons and the death penalty do not work as a deterrent or in preventing reoffending so it's just pointless.

 

[Randianne]

There is a big difference in giving education to a criminal who could be rehabilitated and one who committed murder. If they are adults and mentally sound when they plan out and execute a murder, then why are we trying to better them?

If they stuck these guys in a cell with the basics (food, clothing, shelter, hygiene) and that's it then we could reconsider the death penalty in some cases. But how is it fair to punish them by letting them sit around, watch tv, and play cards all day? Yes, I realize they have lost their freedom, but some else lost their LIFE.

People (again, of age and mentally sound) who commit multiple murders should be put to death. There is too much chance that they could escape. Last night on the news, they were looking for a convicted murderer that was freed because of a clerical error. It is also possible to escape from prison. Mass murderers and serial killers especially deserve the death penalty. Loss of freedom is not a fitting punishment for them.

 

[fantastica]

It's not strictly true everywhere that all they do is sit around playing cards etc. I don't see the problem in allowing people to do things whilst they're in there..I think partly because if you had seriously violent prisoners then allowing them to be 'bored' or feel even more against the system, then guards are going to have problems.

I also can't help but think some murders seem 'worse' than others, obviously not for families but in terms of who commits them...if it is a gang thing, then I think rehabilitation could be more of a possibility, but with someone who just enjoys it then obviously not.

I really believe that the money spent on the death penalty would be better spent on prevention and rehabilitation, than on simply perpetuating the cycle of violence. The risk of the person being innocent is also a big risk.

 

[Scottish mum]

Your right money should be spent on prevention but for some nothing can prevent there actions it's the lifestyles they are brought up in and that's just how they live! Drugs and alcohol play a huge part and offenders are also offerd assistance with this but doesn't always work. You wouldn't believe the amount of drugs that are still being abused in JAIL x

 

[fantastica]

Yeah I know some can't be prevented, I mean mainly in high crime areas, look at reasons why and things that could be done to lower crime (although i'm sure there are people looking at it all the time), and this is obviously different to paedophiles or serial killers!

Aren't most of the drugs in jail brought in by people working in the jails though? Maybe if people in that kind of authority weren't so corrupt, things would be different too (this might not be the case everywhere, but it is where i'm from). I'm sure there are programs available, and it is up to the individuals to take the help, but it's not always going to be that simple.

 

[Natsku]

If more money was spent on combating poverty there would be less criminals to put in prison. The more equal (in the sense of income) a country is, the less crime. Better mental health care is also essential, so much crime is committed by the mentally ill which could be prevented if they were diagnosed in the first place and better care provided.
Serial killers/serial rapists and paedophiles (unless chemical castration works for them, I don't know enough about it to know) should be locked away as long as they are deemed a danger to society, so for the rest of their life if necessary.

 

[Randianne]

It's not strictly true everywhere that all they do is sit around playing cards etc. I don't see the problem in allowing people to do things whilst they're in there..I think partly because if you had seriously violent prisoners then allowing them to be 'bored' or feel even more against the system, then guards are going to have problems.

If prisoners are bored, then put them to work. I'm okay with earned luxuries for criminals who can be rehabilitated. I'm sorry, if you murdered someone, you no longer have the right to pleasantries. As far as I'm concerned, you can either work for the prison or stare at a blank wall for the rest of your life. That's the least you deserve.

 

[Scottish mum]

I agree get them working. Picking up rubbish, cleaning up graffiti! X