JUVENILE/ADULT PRISON REFORM
Frank D. Woodruff
I
look at the Justice system today as being a Dinosaur only right out of the
middle- ages, right along with torture and whippings. We have accumulated of
human souls, in prison, the likes that the world has ever seen, and we just
keep building on that. It’s like we
are
drowning in Quick Sand or even a Drug. I believe that we should step back and
look at the whole system as to what
should
be done even to the point of changing some of our Laws with Reform in mind. A
lot of our LAWS are made in the
moment
of Hysteria.
Adult
Prison Reform:
Just
for one thing, we have no reform program. When we sentence a person it’s for
Revenge and not to change that person
to
a better and responsible life. We put them into prison just to get them out of our
lives at that time, never planning on what
the
future might have to contend with when these people get out. A lot of them take
advantage of the education programs that
try
to advance their knowledge of the work
place and business fields. But when they get out they can’t use the
knowledge
that
they have mostly because of restrictions imposed on them and the distaste of
hiring an ex con. In Industry, when they put
in
an application for work one of the questions would be, “Have you ever been
arrested on a felony charge or have you been
sentenced
to jail”, which, if answered yes, just about guarantee’s no job. And yes there
are those that get out of Prison that
are
more vicious than when they went in.
Those people will never change but then we have those people outside of
prisons
that
have never went to jail and are just as vicious. Those people are hired with
the same applications. Only they might get
their
job. When we sentence any one it should be with the idea of reprogramming their
mind toward (responsible) thinking.
Now
there’s a word that’s never used any more.
Juvenile
Adult Prison Reform:
Here’s
another example of Revenge. No young boy is going to survive very long in an
Adult Prison; it’s just not logical. That
includes
young twenty year olds. He would have to become an animal with no values. It’s
a must that those Laws be changed.
A
suggestion then. If a young person is
not violent and it’s believed that he could be reprogrammed as to his thinking
on
responsibilities
in life. After he’s been found guilty and sentenced, then he should be turned
over to a private group that’s set
up
for just that purpose of rehabilitation even if he has a life sentence. He will
still serve his sentence but in a more normal and
humane
atmosphere away from an Adult prison.
What’s
violent to me??
If
a person has been physically or mentally abused for a length of time and in his
mind could see no end, then, in a rage, struck
back
and killed. Then this would be a form of self-defense. Even a dog, if kicked
enough times, will bite back. Yet if he has a
past
history of non-violence then I would have to believe that normally he is
non-violent. If you will remember Getts in the
subway
killings He was mugged and robbed in a subway by four men. Then he got himself
a gun. The next time he rode the
subway
these same men came along and he knew what they were there for. He pulled his
gun and started shooting, when he
could
have just pulled his gun and said, “Look what my mommy bought me for
Christmas”?? That would have been enough
to
stop the mugging. But he didn’t, he started Blasting away. Was that
self-defense??
How
would I Reprogram a person??
First
off, I’m not much on psychologists. You put ten of them in one room and they all
come up with different answers to the
same
problem. However I was raised on a Farm and to me this is the best life a boy
can have. And there for that’s what this
program
would be built around.
After
the sentence has been handed down, then the boy should be taken to a separate
conference room. There with his
Family,
if any, they, the parents and the boy would be interviewed more in the line of
their mind set as any thing else. Having
already
sat thru a trial. If by the interview we believed that in all probability he
wouldn’t run and if they, the boy and the parents approved, then he would be
taken to a Town/Farm set up for just these boys.
A
Town/Farm:
It’s
just what it implies. It’s a small town that has been built in an isolated
area. At least thirty miles from the nearest town and
with
an attached farm along side. The area of restriction would be with in that area
unless permission has been given to leave
the
immediate area. The boys would live and run this small town and farm. There would be no guards, fences or gates
only Supervisor’s. Their being told at the interview that if they left that
area of confinement, with out permission, that they would be
sent
back to prison. In other words I have to
assume that if he’s down the road a mile or so away from this town/farm that
he’s
not coming back.
I
would preferably have this Town/Farm supervised by older retired people as most
young people don’t consider them a
threat.
These young boys would be taught a trade for the operation of this town.
Carpentry, electrical, plumbing and so forth.
The
housing for these boys would be independent cabins instead of dormitories
having also a large looking more like a lodge
than
a dormitory. It would be used for eating and meeting hall. Considering that there
would be no guards, fences or gates,
their
families could visit every day and even help with the operation of this
town. If a Doctor would be among them
then he
might
help in the training of a medical service even to the point of building a clinic.
Considering this is also a farm area these
boys
would be trained in farming and gardening and would also raise livestock,
chickens and other animals. Hobbies would
be
encouraged and should any boy wish to sell what he has made then if a highway
is near by he can sell his product.
I
would rather see this program run by volunteer Senior Citizens with maybe free
meals and housing thrown in. This would not
be
a Boy Scout Camp or the famous “Boy’s Town”. These boys wouldn’t be qualified
for a boys town. But let there not be
any
doubt about it, they are prisoners and couldn’t leave that area until their
sentence is up or they die. It would also be a
more
normal and humane surroundings. This would be a Radical Program. But does anything
else work. I would sure like to
hear
about it. We have to start looking further down the road as to what we are
going to be up against when these people
start
getting out. I would rather know that they would be non-violent and well
trained to find a job.
Frank D Woodruff
1-417-235-3514
fdwdew@sofnet.com
Page 2
Young Boy Sentenced to Life in Prison
Page 3 Adult Prison Parole
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4 Execution