War5oldierMar 27

Who manages the correctional system in your country?

https://lemmy.world/post/44810366

Who manages the correctional system in your country? - Lemmy.World

The reason why American prisons carry a shit reputation is due to the big issue regarding their prison industrial complex, meaning it’s more akin to a private firm (some contractor manages the prison monetizing every aspect) than a state owned government insitution. In most nations: the prisons are owned and operated by the judiciary or a justice department (which both are governmental entities). But NOT in America it seems, as there are cases of prisons profiting off inmates whilst treating them like a animal confined to a cage. The corruption in that is ridiculous from: - Guards are overprotected (military gear) in prison - Guards being handed military grade weaponry (in jail!) - Guards accept bribes (cash) from some third party - Inmates fed slop (not made for human consumption) - No effort on rehabilitating the inmates at all - Monetize family visitations by the hour or minute - Officials are bribed by those contractors to stay silent It plays a key reason as to why their recidivism rate is high: the inmates who served their time just commit crime again right after they are on the street, then return back to prison again (it’s a cycle). There’s zero effort on trying to make them readjust back to society. There’s a case were a guy was beaten to death in a holding cell by the GUARDS despite him begging for medical attention as he’s peeing blood and vomiting due to his illness. His family sued the police station he’s held in as what they did to him is unforgivable. Now, in terms of prisons in your (EU) country: - How well are they funded to maintain it’s upkeep? - What is the overall recidivism rate in your country? - Who owns & operates the prisons in your country?

Show threadRidderSport

Germany here:

Penal sancrions against a person are a heavy violation of a persons fundamental constitutional rights. Therefore only the state mandated by the people may, on the grounds of a legal basis, imprison someone. That includes the prison itself. The states all have to facilitate their own prisoners. As in the prisoner is usually kept in the same state that they were sentenced in. The funding is decided annually by the parliament of the state. As an action by the state it can be challenged in court and the states need to have a minimum of care given to each prisoner. After all their freedom is taken away for a period of time nothing else.

Prison records are not public, society rarele gets to know if someone had been imprisoned. Exemptions are jobs that require a clear record, leakage of the name before sentencing etc. News outlets may not publish the full name nor a picture of the face of the prisoner. In fact every prisoner has a constitutional right to a chance of a normal life after prison. I have no personal experience if that actually works out.

While I have yet heard of personal experiences of German prisons, I have heard of quite a few eastern europeans that would rather be sentenced in Germany than in their home country. There have been quite a few scandals however and investigations didn’t seem too thorough.

I don’t know the the recidivism rate by heart. It’s however inadvisable to use that as any kind of factor as it’s too dependent on the crime commited, age and sex of the criminal, famiöy background etc.

What has been privatized sporadically is detention facitilies for “guilt-less”-criminals, i.e. people that suffered at the time of the crime and still suffer from mental disorders that affect the cognition of action and guilt. Schizophrenia and the like. States that privatized these facilities had to pass a very detailed law on the handling of those patients. The general well being as well as a chance to be set free has to be looked at annually by external psychiatrists as well as a judge.

Generally speaking I’d say Germany has a decent penal system. But, its theoratical focus on resocialization is not seen in high regard in the general population for some of the more heinous crimes (as well as tied to general racism).

Mar 27 at 9:11amWeb
Show threadLupus108Mar 27

Good write up!

You stressed already that imprisonment legally is seen as an infringement on your rights. Just adding a little interesting fact to that:

A prison break is not illegal per se in Germany. The urge for freedom is regarded as one of the most basic human urges.

So the act of escaping from prison carries no additional punishment, but crimes you commit pursuing that goal, do. For example breaking a window, attacking someone, stealing a key will get punished normally and will be added to your sentence. But if you manage to escape without committing any crimes you’ll just have to finish your original sentence (if caught obviously).