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....