Ramona asked this question on 5/10/2000:

In Tamms, Il, close to where I live, there is a super-maximum security prison. There 39 inmates are on a hunger strike that is now in its second week. The 39 inmates--down from the 168 last week--are protesting what they claim are arbitrary and illegal practices that endanger their mental and physical well-being.

Their lists of grievances includes claims of abuse of mentally-ill inamtes, ill-fitting shoes, and inadequate clothing. They also claim that they must become informants to win transfer back to traditional prisons--which endangers their lives. Inmates say that the guards often restrict their meals to a ground-up mixture called meat loaf and that the commissary extorts them for favors. They are locked up for 23 hrs a day.

Correction officers say they are reviewing the complaints. The lawyer for the imates says that previous intervention has accomplished nothing.

So, what do you think should be done? Do these inmates--and these are the worst of the worst, have no doubts that these guys got here by earning their tickets--deserve better treatment? The sort of life they live some people in poor countries like India would envy. Do we owe them better treatment when they would likely rape, murder, and steal every one and every thing they could?

tpelz gave this response on 5/12/2000:

We have a duty to provide humane conditions for prisoners, even for the worst of the worst. Management can minimize these problems by being visible inside the prison. Management by walking around has always proved to be the best way to be in the loop and solve problems. Prison life is the bedrock of complaints and some prisoners will complain about anything as long as it provides them entertainment and is disruptive to the daily operations.

There is no reason to labor over their plight as long as they are receiving what the law allows.

Terry Pelz Criminal Justice Consulting

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