Cell phones

I thought the days of ‘lock em up and throw away the key ‘ was over, seems not.

holding - if you have never been a 'victim', you've been extremely fortunate in your life.

That must be most comforting for the victims.
If I was a victim I would feel ashamed of myself, putting such people through such horrors for actions they themselves chose to carry out.

Agreed iam64 prisons are full of damaged people , who have been brought up in the “care” system, have mental health isssues, are products of disfunctional families, are victims themselves in many ways, or any combination of the above. Not to say those guilty of dangerous , violent offences shouldn’t be locked up , they should, but they should be treated humanely when they are there. Prison officers should be well trained, well paid and have decent working conditions too.

It seems posters with any direct experience of life in prisons are united in disagreeing with the view that they're holiday camps. No they aren't, not at all. Life in prison is grim for inmates and can be a challenge for the civilians and prisons officers who work there.

Where does this opinion come from, that any poster who favours constructive and compassionate treatment of everyone in our society, including offenders, is a 'left wing do gooder'. We imprison far too many offenders. Many men and women in our prisons have mental health problems or at the lower end of the IQ scale, so find life more difficult than the majority of us do.

If land lines improve the outcomes for prisoners and have the advantage of making prisons easier places to manage, that seems a good thing.

I've visited many violent offenders in prisons. Away from drugs/alcohol and the pressures they face in their out of control lives, these men sign up for any classes going. They show their certificates of achievement in education, in being drug free with great pride. These men are human beings like the rest of us. They've mostly had grim experiences as children or in early adult life, so been disadvantaged from the start.
As for the women's prisons, they're full of women with histories of abuse experience. As with the male prisoners, drugs and alcohol alongside mental health problems prevail. We need a look at our society rather than simply reacting so strongly against an idea that those who know more than we do, suggest may be a positive.

Cell phones or phones in their cells?

The image on the news tonight clearly showed a land line.

Different people GabriellaG54
It’s easy enough to ID him if you read the posts a bit more thoroughly and google what you have gleaned.

as a retired California Correctional Officer, inmates aren't allowed cellphones period for the safety and security of the institution, the officers, other free staff, as well as the other inmates. If a cell phone is found in their possession it's because an officer has passed it to someone. The officer will be dealt with in accordance with the law and lose his/her job and escorted off prison grounds. The inmate caught with the cell phone will lose parole time/credit, recieve time in SHU (security housing unit/confined single cell), even points against time earned. Inmates do have access to landlines on specific days at specific times they must sign up for within their housing unit but they must earn the right to use the phone through good conduct including: following building rules, no negative disciplinary reports, cells maintained.

holdingontometeeth
I didn't say for a fact that the original sentence was a whole of life term, simply that the prisoner, having been incarcerated for 33 years (and not having been eligible for parole, otherwise he'd be out) must have been given a whole of life tariff, as cases in the UK which attract such swingeing sentences as 33+ years, are as rare as hen's teeth.
There are, of course, instances where bad behaviour can add time to a sentence but it depends on the severity.
There is only 1 person in the UK who fits this scenario and the dates do not tally and he was given a whole of life tariff, contrary to what you say...IF it's the same person whose name begins with J.

FF
That may be your impression but it's not quite on the mark, and no, my info is not from the press although the press and media get quoted quite a bit on here and they are largely one and the same.

NO. Isn't prison being removed from society as a punishment for a crime.

Re the jail for tv licence post www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4130060/amp/More-women-men-jailed-TV-licenses.html
I’ll bet they more than rolled their eyes!

It is not just the prisoner being punished, it is their wife and children or parents. They do not deserve not to hear from their loved one. Let us shoe some compassion.

A prison sentence is about rehab as well as punishment. Remember they are deprived of freedom locked up separate from familied

EllanVannin
I think I know the man you are referring to. I lived not far from the scene of the crime. I can still see the scene at the home as I was on my way to work.
I still can't make up my mind, but I'll admit it was handled badly by the police.

Yet again, it's a case of look after the criminals rights, before their victms. No wonder our jails are full they are living by he life of Riley with no costs to themselves, while our pensioners and veterans struggle, something somewhere went very wrong on this country!!!

I would be hugely sceptical of anything the press say. Having seen quite a few incidents that I have been personally involved in reported and knowing that the press have only got the day it happened correct. Due to confidentiality even our press office cannot correct them. You feel like commenting saying no the patient wasn’t 12, they weren’t a girl, they weren’t hit by a car, and no we weren’t putting them in the recovery position, they had a simple fractured arm ( all details changed but you get the gist ?) but you can’t. Any story involving victims, patients etc will be the same, all carefully cloaked in ‘sources state, passerby’s stated’ to avoid a legal challenge and police, doctors, courts cannot comment providing they haven’t stated it as absolute fact and they are nearly always too clever for that.
You can only believe probably 10% of what is reported. I was shocked the first time I read a report but now I just roll my eyes and quietly despair.

I don’t know if it’s still going on, but people originally charged with not having a television licence sometimes ended up in prison.
Not for not having the licence but for failing to pay the fine, often in the hundreds of pounds, issued as a punishment.

Our own, mostly limited or non- existent,experience of the prison system and time spent in prison is just anecdotal or gleaned from biased press reports. If those with far greater knowledge and experience than I have feel it will make life safer for inmates and officers why would I argue?
Whilst I accept there are people in prison who have committed dreadful crimes and caused terrible hurt & damage there are also ordinary , but stupid, people whose lives got in a muddle & due to a perfect storm of circumstances break the law & end up inside. Not everyone inside is the scum of the earth!
Some on here would make the unreformed Scrooge seem generous!

Talking about statements look what came out in the Hillsborough enquiry.
Serving officers at the time with knowledge of policing football matches knew from early on who the main responsibility lies.
And still no definitive action is being taken against him though he and several of his ilk were shown to be accomplished liars and responsible for changing statements and covering their backs.
Their are some very big egos to be protected by the establishment.

GabriellaG54 You are wrong in several of your admissions.
It was a sensational case and was plastered all over the media.
I had forgotten about it as no doubt many others had.
The original sentence wasn’t as you described either.

EllanVannin Chilling. I think I have identified who you are talking about.
Bit like the battle for justice of the Birmingham and Guildford bombers.
That couple who got arrested re the Drone.
The male was working at the time but no one would listen to his employer when he wanted to give him an alibi 24 hours before their release.
That story has died a death I see.
These long term prisoners, even if, and I reiterate if, they can cast doubt on their conviction, the state will be very reluctant to admit their wrongful conviction.
Keeping face and obviously not giving the public reason to doubt our Justice system.

The police have been utterly disgusting in the case I'm following. They didn't have a clue and relied heavily on outside witnesses who weren't even conversant with the family involved in the incident but continued an assassination of the character of the accused.

GabriellaG54 You obviously know far more inmates than I do, I only know one who has no children and only ever committed the one crime and knew no one on the inside before being committed himself. Or does your information come from the press rather than being factual, at least I know my information is factual.

holdingontomyteeth that young man supports the chap I'm on about who's been inside for 33 years and has joined the support group and has also written to the man in question.