I thought that what Ms. Graham said was really sad and alarming. I don't really believe that because someone committed a crime they should be practically killed with the heat or bad conditions. Even criminals don't deserve to live like animals. I don't really know what to do to change this though. I don't think that the American people should have to give their hard earned money (taxes) to pay for the prisoners. So, maybe the inmates should pay for themselves I don't really know how. They can all work while in jail and get paid for that or they can be forced to take money out of their savings accounts or something like that. Hunamitarian groups could go a long way towards inproving the conditions if they wanted to. If they gave a certain amount of money each year then the prisons could afford to take better care of the inmates. Also perhaps we should have people who actually care abour other people working inside the prisons because al l of the doctors and people she was talking about did not appear to care if they lived or died.

I was shocked by the information that Ms. Graham presented on tuesday. However, I am not sure how the living conditions that the inmates are experiencing should be fixed. I think it is wrong to have people's taxes go to the prisons if they are not being used wisely. While criminals should be punished, they should not be tortured day in and day out during their daily routine. Prisoners usually have a hard enough time doing time, that they shouldn't have to worry about the temperature or space they live in. I find it especially wrong that they don't get correct medical treatment. I think taxes should be allowed to pay for these things, but they don't seem to be. If it's a matter of lack of money, then I really don't know how they could fix it. They could reduce the number of people in jail by having less serious crimes stay in a rehibiliation center and help them get jobs within reason. If they had better treatment, they would probably have a better chance of reforming and becoming a better person. I don't know how they would be able to provide funds for these things without a tax increase, but something should be done. No matter who the person is, no one deserves to live and be treated like an animal.

After Grace Graham's lecture, I was appalled by the state of prisons in Alabama. I think that while the prisoners deserve to be punished for their crimes, they still have certain rights that should be protected. I think that the prisoners derserve adequate medical attention and humane living conditions. Like Ms. Graham, I believe that anything else would be considered cruel and unconstitutional. Even though they are criminals, the prisoners are still people, and deserve to be treated like such. I think that Ms. Graham's suggestion of sending drug offenders to treatment programs rather than jails would be one way to help with the overcrowding and budget problems. Education oppurtunites for inmates would also help prepare them to readjust their lives when the return to the "free world". While these things may appear to cost more money, in the long run they will be more beneficial as they would help reduce the number of repeat offenders. Also, I think that shorter sentences for smaller crimes would be effective as the offender still gets punished, however they are in jail for a shorter period of time costing the state less money and eventually reducing the number of people in prisons.

Immediately after Ms. Graham started presenting the facts, I started to agree with her in terms of this being a humanitarian crisis. Regardless of the fact that these people have committed crimes in their lives, they still deserve to be treated like humans. They should be provided the basics like comfortable living temperatures and medical treatments. I was a little surprised at the facts Chris presented about cable and computers in the prisons. The money that does go into the prison systems should go first into their medical care, food, and living conditions.

However, this still doesn’t solve the main problem of overcrowding. I do agree that people should serve time for committing a crime. However, the sentences seem a little bizarre. Should people who stole $150 worth of goods really spend 20 or so years in prison if it is their offense? It seems like everyone should be given a second chance, maybe after paying a large fine and possible community service hours and/or spending time in some type of correctional classes at their own expanse. I think that the punishments should be adjusted more towards the crime. Murders should be punished by time in prison, but the idea of three life sentences is crazy. However, if a murder is committed by a twelve year old, should he stay in prison his whole like for a mistake he made in his youth? It seems like after a certain time in prison, he should be sent to more of a correctional facility, where the rules of society are taught and some extensive training helps him slowly adjust back into society. Also, I think that the start of using alternative drug treatments and rehabs to prison is a much better idea, in that it seems more logical. If a person in drug related crimes spends time in alternative drug treatment centers, the person may be able to stay off drugs and go back to a normal life. If the offense is repetitive, then prison does seem like the proper way to go. Furthermore, I think cases of mental illnesses should definitely have alternative options. A schizophrenic case should be looked into more in that the person involved can be helped with proper medicine. To ensure the person continues taking the medication, the person should be well educated about the illness, since this is often left out, and possible check in with his/her doctor after a certain time frame. For other mental cases, our mental institutions should be well established and trusted for people to enter there instead of helping to overcrowd prisons. I’m not very familiar the prison systems and these are just suggestions I based on what I know. I just think it’s horrible for people in our society to treat others so inhumanly, regardless of their pasts.

Throughout the past couple of years, I have become more aware of how immates have been treated in prisons, especially in the Madison County Jail in Huntsville. With my dad being the sheriff, I have seen first-hand how prisoners are treated in jail. However I disagree with inmates having luxeries that an average citizen does not have. Most prisons in the state are over-crowded. The reason because of the over-crowding is the lack of federal funds used to build larger jails. Recently, the Huntsville City Police Department in North Alabama recieved funding to build a new jail. The jail cost 47 million dollars to complete and only holds 300 inmates. When the jail was opened, it was already over capicity. However, this jail is also a municipal complex. Madison County is now in the process of adding a new jail that will hold 1200 inmates. This project will end up costing close to 42 million dollars. The jail itself will cost only 12 million dollars. Due to lawsuits from the inmates, prisons and jails throughout the nation have to follow strict codes such as hiring a nutritionist to design menus for the inmates. Prisoners also cannot be denied health treatment while they are in jail. Last year, my dad recieved a lawsuit from an inmate stating that he was denied his rights because he did not recieve his mail immediately. Lawsuits such as these cause prison systems to lose millions of dollars each year.
I disagree with the fact that prisoners should recieve certain luxuries while they are in jail. Inmates are in prison because they commited an inhumane crime. I disagree with the fact that some felons will commit a crime in order to recieve a specific surgery for free. Taxpayers around the country are paying for felons to recieve special treatment after commiting a crime. I think that it is extremely sad that inmates recieve better healthcare than the policemen that protect our citizens from these inmates. Some of the immates live in better conditions than some of the prison guards.
I agree with the sheriff in New Mexico. He makes every inmate sleep outside in the desert in a tent. The inmates also have to wear pink underwear and socks and the original black and white jumpsuit. These prisoners still work in the chain gangs busting up rocks in a quary. If anyone was to ask the prisoners if they would commit their crime agian, a majority would say, "NO." Some of the living conditions in Alabam's state prisons are terrible. However it is not the police department's faught. Lack of funding is the main problem. Prisons today are built eith less than half of the given amount of funds. Prisoners should not enjoy prison. They commited a crime and deserve to be there, especially ones who commit murder. Prisoners on death rowe should not recieve luxuries. They should regret everyday the crime that put them there. I disagree with Ms. Graham. Prisoners are not a humanitarian crisis. Why should prisoners be treated with a life of luxuries when they took a life away from someone? There are other problemas ariund the world that should be discussed. If I was to argue about something, I would argue for better pay for policemen. Policemen are underpayed for the duties they perform.
If an inamte recieves better healthcare and living conditions in jail than outside of the jail, what lesson is being taught here? Inmates who recieve better living conditions in jail will not want to leave. They will commit more crimes in order to stay in jail. Prisoners should reformed to not commiting crimes that a inhumane to others. Prison is not a desirable place to be, so why should we make it this way?

I was not shocked really by anything that Mrs. Graham talked about in her lecture. Last year I went on a trip during "Fall Project Week" (a week where each student chooses a destination and travels there for a week to learn about whatever the teacher wants the trip to highlight) last year called "Books, Blues, and Barbecue." With my English teacher, our group of students traveled through Missippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia studying obviuosly what the title entails and also visiting a prison in Missippi, Parchman State Penitentiary, one of the most strict and well known maximum security prisons natrionwide. All of the prisoners who we would talk there talked about why they were there and the conditions in which they were living, etc... They all said they were miserable, hot, uncomfortable, and hungry etc... all the while admitting that they deserved these conditions. Because this was a maximum security site all of the people that were there were obviously there for a reason (i.e. murderm rape). I know that this makes it much different from our systems here in Alabama seeing as though there are many people in there for other things; however, the point is that they are criminals and they are there for a reason and they know it. They knew when they did their crime what the consequences would be. I am deifnitely not saying that we should treat them inhumanely at all and I do think that basic needs should be met. As everyone else has mentioned, I do think it would be very logical and helpful to have a system in which the prisoners could work paying off some of what their cost of living to be in prison is. I think the problem also lies within the fact that the times that certain people must serve in jail are at one extreme or the other. There are people in jail for possessing or selling drugs that will be there for longer than someone who has raped or murdered someone. I personally think this is completely ridiculous. I would much rather someone walk up to me and offer me any drug that I could simply refuse than walk up tp me and rape or murder me. Another major problem is the money issue. This issue is not only one with prison systems in Alabama but with everything including education. Until there is a way to raise or make lots of money, agree on what to spend it on, and enact programs with which to help these decisions go through, it will be very difficult to fix the prison problem here in Alabama.

One of my closest friendswas beaten by her father when she tried to stop him from beating her mother. Her jaw was nto just broken, it was shattered and at a very tender age she waas forced to live in a hospital bed with her jaw wired shut so that she could only eat by sucking food through a straw. Her father was only in prison for three months and has yet to recover.

Having this experience so close to my heart, I think that prisons must me about rehabilitation. Prisoners must learn something about life values and recieve some sort of psychological evaluation/help. I understand that adding more taxes would probably break the backs of the people of Alabama, if it weren't for a scholarship I probably would not be here and if taxes were any higher I would have to leave. However, something is wrong in our system. People are being treated inhumanely, more so than stray animals about to be put to sleep,and something must be done about it. All that punishing a criminal is going to do is make him bitter, and we do not need any more apathy in our system. What if prisoners were aloud to leave the jail under heavy supervision to do community servicein turn for shortening their terms? Then underpriveleged people would have no shortage of help and the prisoners could see that they aren't the only ones that need help. Maybe that is a far fetched idea, but I once saw a documentary about a facility in Texas. They allowed the prisoners on death row to help horses that had broken ankles or some other injury that would have them cast away by their owners. Many of the inmates connected to these horses and took very good care of them, enabeling most of them to walk again. The prisoners learned responsibility and empathy while helping a helpless creature. What if inmates were aloud to study to pass the time? What would be the harm of having people who are more educated re-enter society? This may enable them to get jobs, not that it's impossible to get a job with a criminal record, but maybe it will make life easier for them if they feel liket they have something to hold onto when times get rough.

I feel that all people should be treated humanely, no matter what the circumstance. After all, they are still people, no matter what they've done. It does not make much sense to rehabilitate people on death row, but their punishment should only be that their lives are taken away (as terrible and inhumane as it is for people to lose their lives because they can't afford a good lawyer there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it). However, I once met a person who wanted to one day go to jail so that she would not have to live on the streets. For some it is a comfort to know that there will be a roof over their heads and food on their plates no mater what they have to do to get and stay there. I believe that the basic comforts of food and shelter should be provided for everyone. It is a sad thing that any person should feel compelled to break the law because they lack something that they need. This country needs something more than food stamps and government housing like maybe an "in between hotel" where basic needs are provided as long as the main caregiver tries to get and maintain a job. Back to the subject, dogs about to be put to sleep are treated more humanely than many prisoners are. In my few years as a member of Amnesty International, I have recieved more negative information on this subject than on any other injustice in the world. I still feel that we need to fix the problems in our country before we can be brazen enough to try to fix a problem in someone else's.

I feel dumb commenting on this so late in the game but a lot of stuff has happened recently and therefore I will respond now.

Normally I would respond to the issue of prisons being so uninviting with their horrible conditions and healthcare in a "Im sorry, but there are consequences to every action." I used to take the approach that one well-known prison official did out in the Mid-West, where the prisoners were housed in the middle of the heat in tents, fed bologna sandwiches and received little luxuries that even most other prisoners get. I liked that idea then and part of me still likes it now, for it seemed to cut down on the return rate of the prisoners housed there. But, while I do not believe that prisoners should be given luxuries, I do believe in humane and ethical treatment for, after all, they still are human beings.

As far as the prison situation in Alabama goes, I do think of prison as both a way of punishing and rehabilitating those in society who once committed crimes against themselves or others. Therefore, upon their release, they will hopefully be able to become responsible members of our community. I think the best way to help the prisoners as well as members of the general public is to put each able prisoner to work within the prison performing services to the community, whether it be repairing wheelchairs for the disabled, cleaning the side of highways or just simple assembly jobs. That way, each learns the value of working to achieve a goal for the greater good of the people and it breaks up the monotony of simply sitting in a cell. The wages that they earn for the economy of the state could then, in turn, be used to provide better and more adequate healthcare for those within the system. I think the people in Alabama would feel better and not as bitter towards the prisoners if they felt they were making a positive attribution towards the citizens as well as their own well being while being incarcerated. Just a thought....