What if you (theoretically) had a grim choice to make with your <b>own</b> life: Either be put to death via lethal injection, or be sentenced to life in a supermax U.S. prison, with no possibility of parole or pardon. I know you'd never commit a crime worthy of such punishment, but just leave that aside for now, and pick which fate would be preferable over the other.
I'm amused when anti-capital punishment advocates utter platitudes like, "give them life without parole. It's far worse than death." If that's true, then why do death row inmates, many of whom have spent almost two decades awaiting the needle, use every appeal and legal device known to man, in order to avoid death? Unless one is suicidal, NO ONE, really wants to die. I see the same thing in old people. I had a grandmother die at 94 a couple of years back. Every now and then she'd say:"I've had a long life, I'm ready to die. I'm so old and feeble, I WANT to die." The next day she'd be begging for a doctors visit to cure the slightest malady. She did EVERYTHING to prolong her life, even when life was nothing more than lying in bed. Yes, those who are terminally ill and in GREAT PAIN, will seek suicide. But 99.9% of the population has no interest in signing their own death warrant.
Life in prison, 23 hours/day in solitary? Really - what does one do with oneself when good ole masturbation doesn't carry the moment any longer? Seriously tho... If solitary confinement rules would allow requested reading materials, I believe I would forgo the needelin'. I'd find my paradise and excitement between the hard covers of other peoples imaginations and experiences. I heard it said before that the mind can tell NO difference between what is vividly imagined and what was actually experienced. You can actually believe you have achieved experiences that have only been imagined. Left to staring at walls and a ceiling 23 hours every day... um, let me pump ya up a nice one to hit dude! Eating a "prison brick" a day would be such a bummer to an Epicurean tho. And those virtual stogies and sizzilin steaks. Chit man I'm feelin crappy already.
Being in "the hole", what we called segregation (solitary) was the one punishment that inmates dreaded and hated the very most.
Yeah, I've seen guys lose their minds in there. I spent three years of my life working in a prison because I was <b>ordered</b> to do it. How about you Ricter? Why?
Because it pays well (at least in Canada it does), particularly with all the overtime offered. Plus, it was an opportunity to take my formerly unused martial arts training and apply it realworld. I also enjoyed being tight with my fellow guards, and part of a rather exclusionary occupation. When I said "corrections officer", people were interested in hearing about it, if a little horrified by the reality.
I find you one of the more interesting people on this site. If you had to break it down, what % of the inmates you've encountered are just "bad seeds" as opposed to those who've made mistakes based on circumstance?
Didn't you find it difficult to keep your spirits up in such a bad karma environment? I hadn't suffered from depression at all until my three years out in the shit. Ten years later, and I'm still fighting to suppress it. I suppose there are some factors which would have made your prison work a lot more comfortable than mine: 1) You got to go HOME after work. 2) I was paid $100/month, and wasn't allowed to quit. 3) You're probably more of a 'tough guy' than I am.