>I'm sure prison is not picnic, but at the same time, why inmates are allowed these things doesn't sound like punishment to em.
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>Kevin, I think you're exaggerating a bit with the "5-star hotel" stuff.
>
>Consider this...
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>Yes, they have ping-pong and TV and things....I've never been in a prison....but think about this....even though the guards are armed, there are far more prisoners than guards...these types of activities are probably intended to keep the prisoners calm and in line.
>
>Ever see the movie "The Green Mile"? Granted, it's just a movie....but there was a great line by Tom Hanks....when someone asked why he was so civil and calm with the men on death row, and even got personally involved with a few (the French inmate with the mouse, bringing cornbread to big John), Hanks replied (and I'm paraphrasing), "these men are under tremendous stress and pressure and so we do what we do to keep them calm, because it's in everyone's best interests".
>
>(For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, it is a fantastic movie....I don't ever recall being so emotionally worked up about the ending of the movie).
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>Even though we might personally want to walk into a prison once a week and smack around murderers or a white collar criminals or grown men who have sex with young teens....the truth is that giving them a few things to look forward to probably keeps them in line and maybe even REDUCES the risk of harming guards or causing a riot or trying to escape.
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>What those TV shows you're watching AREN'T showing is everything else about prison....hard manual labor, a tiny living space, no privacy, your daily routine is determined by those running the place, not being able to go to the bathroom alone (jesus, that last one alone keeps me from committing hard crimes...as Al Bundy always said, that's the only place where a free man can still truly be "king"). <s>

I agree that these 'liberties' probably help keep the peace.

But remember sherrif Jeo Arpaio? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio (Scroll down to "Changes to jail operations").
He had the tent city, chain gangs, and inmates in pink underwear.

His opinion, and I agree, is that prison shouldn't be fun. If you don't wanna do the time, don't do the crime. If you don't like life in prison, then don;t come back.