"While I'm all in favor of prison being a nasty place, I don't like the organized crime that apparently takes place in the prison environment"
I agree with every part except prison having to be a nasty place. Reason one being, if it's a nasty place it will also turn the prison staff, guards, employees into nasty people too who get to filter back into our society. Not a good trade off. People do in fact start to parrot their environment if they're in it long enough. Prisons should be bland, and organised ONLY by the prison staff with ZERO tv and plenty of breaking the evil spirit of destruction prisoners wallow in and replacing it with positive constructivisms. TV is after all the crazed liberals slow drip of insanity, debuachery and disrespect to its viewership.
"TV is after all the crazed liberals slow drip of insanity, debuachery and disrespect to its viewership."
You nailed that one!
as long as bureaucrats can act with impuinity nothing will change
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Well, I think we're largely on the same side of the coin here. I'm not advocating rape or beatings as part of the public penal system. But the system can't be simply another public housing project where bureaucrats house people that don't care about where they are and are just as criminal inside as they are outside.
Interestingly, in the thirteenth amendment outlaws slavery except as punishment for a crime.
In short, convicted criminals can be considered slaves of the state, so compulsory labor without compensation IS constitutional.
Also, break the prisoners up into smaller lots. Rotate them occasionally to break up alliances.