Maybe we shouldn’t pay for TV, gyms, sex change operations and other “needs”.
How about giving them an outdoor cage, a bowl of slop every day, and opportunity to “work” and rent a nicer room/cell, buy food, TV, access to a gym, etc? We don’t want “work” to eliminate outside jobs. But I’d bet an entrepreneur can find something for him/herself to make money while the prisoner does something productive AND develops a work ethic.
And base the sentence on the amount of money they save doing their “job” rather than time in the cage. They get out when they’ve shown they are able to work and manage money.
Elon Musk made his fortune taking government money (though not directly). This seems like a perfect opportunity for someone like him.
I think we ought to house them in tents, make them work, make them wear pink underwear.