If you can't do the time, don't do the crime

People who are so jubilant in their eagerness to show how bad, how really awful, the US prison system is might want to stop a moment and ask themselves what kind of system they would consider passable. I don't think there is an workably ideal way to remove a person from society.

I would be most interested in discovering how other countries run their penal systems. I would hope and expect that the UK has changed since the Dickens days. I too have seen movies. :)

I have been fortunate enough not to have a relative or friend incarcerated, but I do have a number of friends who have worked, or still do work in the prison system. A number of bad apples no doubt find their way into positions of power - just as some get into the police forces or in the military - but all four of my friends who work in the system are gentle, peaceful people. (All but one of them is a musician, by the way.)

Their glasses are not rose-colored because they've 'seen it all' but they are also very aware that sometimes it's just the luck of the draw that brings a person in. On the other hand, they are pragmatic- they'll work with the inmate if the inmate works within the rules.