The other day, I heard about a group of people that are fighting for prisoners’ rights. It disturbs me to even think they believe criminals who have harmed society should enjoy some of the same luxuries that we use in our daily lives.
I’ve always believed that when a criminal is sentenced to a prison term in this country, it is because they have harmed either a person or the public in general. The purpose of this prison sentence is that the inmate is cut off from any joy of our civilization and is forced to reflect on what they did to get to where they are now and why it was wrong to do it.
Living in a county seat where many residents have jobs within the correctional facilities, I am well aware of how spoiled the prisoners are. These people live better off than quite a few of the less fortunate communities in this country. Remember, your tax dollars are being used so that these menaces to society have an opportunity to live in, compared to the history of prison condition, a lap of luxury. If this continues, we may find that residents of these less fortunate communities will commit crimes simply for the chance to live with comforts they have never had in their lives.
We really need to take a good look at what is truly required for a human to survive. Necessities include food, water, gas (for heating purposes), a facility to excrete bodily waste, and medical attention if required. Anything else that is found in a prison is a luxury, and should not be given to these criminals. These inmates need to live under the most basic survival conditions for their entire term; it is the only way that they will truly learn that their crime is wrong.
Another thing that has attracted argument is prisoners’ voting rights. This is another luxury that has been earned for the betterment of our society. Because these criminals have harmed society, they do not deserve to enjoy life’s bonuses during their term. Since they did not want to respect the general public’s opinion on peaceful and just living, any prisoner’s opinion on how our society is to be run should not be respected. Not until their sentence is up and they have paid their debt to society.
