From: Clinton Alexander (clinton@clintonalexander.com)
Date: Sun Jul 28 2002 - 22:55:54 MDT
Do the math:
Average federal prison cell - 80 square feet
Average size of large apartment - 800 square feet
Average number of inmates per 100,000 people - 500
Number of people in the U.S. - 287 million
That's about 1.5 million people in prison, or 120 million square feet of
cell space currently. In the proposed plan, there would be around 1.2
billion square feet of cell space. That's gonna cost and that cost is
going to grow exponentially.
The plan for 'large apartment' sized cells is to make them about 10
times bigger than they are now. That means you need 10 times more
space, 10 times more building materials, and 10 times the labor force to
build it. Every single cell, according to the plan, would also have to
be equipped and wired for closed circuit television. And what if a
prisoner decided to be rebellious and throw feces everywhere? How are
you going to get someone in there to clean it up if the doors are welded
shut, and if you don't want to clean it up, are you going to allow the
family and friends to see their loved ones in a cell with trash and sh*t
everywhere? Then your costs would go up in lawyer's fees for all the
law suits you would be dodging regarding human rights.
The idea presented where we hole up prisoners with welded doors is the
same as the current idea about prison, only taken to a further point on
the spectrum. There's nothing new in that idea. You see, caging people
does not work. It doesn't work in the zoo, and it won't work in human
society.
In concession, I don't have a solution otherwise. Optimistically, I
would say rehabilitation - I have seen it work for some people with my
own eyes, but it doesn't work for everybody. What incentives cause
criminals to stop committing crime? There must be a more creative and
intelligent solution than "weld them shut with closed circuit
television,", no?
Clinton
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-extropians@extropy.org [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]
On Behalf Of Mike Lorrey
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2002 6:03 PM
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Re: Penology (was Microsoft as Slave Master?)
Clinton Alexander wrote:
>
> [John Clark wrote]
> > I would place each prisoner in a sound-proof box the size of a large
> > apartment, and weld the door shut behind him.
>
> The size of a large apartment? Can you imagine what this would cost?
> Jails and prisons are already strapped for funding and privatization
> isn't profitable. Where are you going to get all this money for the
> building and management of these 'large apartments'?
>
The cost of prisons is primarily on the security systems and facilities
for security staff, the intricate gating systems needed to securely move
prisoners in and out of their cells, to eat, shower, work, etc. If a
prisoner instead was permanently kept in an apartment for the entire
term of his sentence, with food served via dumbwaiter and visitation
with family via closed circuit TV, it would be far cheaper to build such
a prison.
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