Prison Peace?!?!

[Jimd]

Amazing...we've had three officers assaulted recently, and they held this peace conference. This is where I work, guys.... :mad:

The Associated Press article 8/10/2005



Prisoners share insights on ending street violence.



By KATHY MATHESON

Associated Press Writer



GRATERFORD, Pa. (AP, Aug. 9) - Describing themselves as having once been part of the problem, a group of prisoners told participants in a crime conference Tuesday that they can now be part of the solution to ending the violence that plagues many urban neighborhoods.



The inmates, many of whom are serving life sentences at the state prison here, said they owe it to their communities to repair the damage they did while living there. They also want to make the streets safer for their families, who still live in areas where they are likely to be crime targets.



About 70 prisoners and 150 visitors _ including international criminologists, students and professors _ participated in "Ending the Culture of Street Crime," a daylong conference sponsored by Temple University, the Pennsylvania Prison Society and an inmates' group known as Lifers Inc. It was held in conjunction with the 14th World Congress on Criminology, which is meeting at the University of Pennsylvania through Thursday.



The prisoners shared their insights during a presentation and a panel discussion, and in small meeting groups, a skit and even a rap song. They explained the difference between street culture and mainstream values, and spoke about the need for released convicts to steer young people toward the latter.



State corrections officials would not allow the media to fully identify the prisoners, citing sensitivity to victims' families.



Conference participant Liz Elliott, co-director of the Centre for Restorative Justice at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, said the Canadian justice system is much more forgiving than that of the United States.



Being sentenced to life without parole is not something that happens in Canada, Elliott said.



"I can't imagine what that would do to people," she said.



So it's noteworthy that Lifers Inc. is reaching out to the public, Elliott said.



"I appreciate their sharing," she said.



Graterford, the state's largest maximum-security penitentiary, houses more than 3,400 inmates about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Nearly 770 are serving life terms, corrections officials said.



Prison superintendent David DiGuglielmo asked participants to do more than just talk about ending street crime.



"Take whatever you learn back home," he said, "and do something positive with it."



DiGuglielmo noted that when he began working at Graterford in 1974, the state had eight prisons. Now, he said, there are 26.



He added that while he is amazed by the number of people who volunteer to work with inmates at the jail, he is frustrated by the lack of aid once the prisoners are released back into the community.



"It's hard to find people to help them," said DiGuglielmo.

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: Well, that all sounds quite positive! :) :spyder:

[Dr. Snubnose]

well ya see they didn't say anything bout making the prison a safer place to be or live or work in....but only the old hood, where their families now live...Doc

[saracen]

Very thoughtfull of prisoner's to "share thier insight's"..

IMO prisoner's are very good at telling society and the public at large what they want to hear, more fool society for believing them.

Most.. not all but most prisoner's are pure and simple scumbag's.. IMO.

[DAYWALKER]

Very thoughtfull of prisoner's to "share thier insight's"..

IMO prisoner's are very good at telling society and the public at large what they want to hear, more fool society for believing them.

Most.. not all but most prisoner's are pure and simple scumbag's.. IMO.

Amen saracen...Admin usually falls for this kind of BS...inmate know what to say and when to say it...and they fall for it, then WE are scrutinized... :mad:

God bless :cool:

[The Deacon]

Have mixed feelings about this type of thing. Am enough of a realist to understand now that some of the "heros", "role models" and "mentors" of my youth were probably nowhere near as goody-goody as they made themselves out to be. But yet, their teaching served me well. Guess what I'm saying is, even if the inmates doing this are total phonies, their message may still manange to do SOME good in the communities that produce and inordinate percentage of the prison population.

[sgt]

A lot (most) of these people are masters at manipulation and expert liars. Talk is cheap. Examine what they do instead of what they say.

[DAYWALKER]

A lot (most) of these people are masters at manipulation and expert liars. Talk is cheap. Examine what they do instead of what they say.

Aloha sgt!

Good to see you and I agree completely with what you wrote. Deacon has a good point too, in that their "talks" will have a positive effect on *some*. However...

You know for yourself. How many times have you picked up the same perps, and how many times have you heard them tell you, "I ain't doing this again!" ? I still have enough fingers and toes to count all of the inmates who "Walked the Talk" and are doing "good"...well, maybe they just weren't caught...yet. I hear countless stories of returning inmates who were SO into church, getting outta the drug/theft scene while on the "inside", then when they come back, they say the first thing they did was get "high" and either assaulted someone or ripped someone off to buy more drugs...

I kinda blame the system for this "revolving door"...I mean, as mentioned in another thread, these "people" rape, molest, steal, assault, murder, destroy, do/sell drugs and we are to "care for and protect them while in our custody" as they get three square meals a day, clean clothes, exercise equipment, hot showers, hygiene, medical, tv, DVD's movies, for FREE while we foot the bill? If it wasn't so enjoyable, *maybe* they would not keep coming back?

Ack...I am ranting...better go now. Sgt, be safe and God bless you and yours. Take care :cool:

[Jimd]

well ya see they didn't say anything bout making the prison a safer place to be or live or work in....but only the old hood, where their families now live...Doc

Doc, you're very perceptive. :) You've made a grand point, in addition to everyone else's points here, of which I agree with ALL of them.

I wanted to grab ahold, physically, of some of these yutzes as they walked in, and shake them, telling them, "They're beating the **** out of us in here!!!".

A couple of us actually made the comments, "I hope, I PRAY, that the inmates do something while these incredibly naive people are in this prison, so they can see how they really are."

As has been said here, we often see inmates walking with visitors, their arm over their shoulder, all smiles, so very sweet and innocent...and on the way back to the cell block, it's "Open the F-ing door for me!".

These people never see the TRUE side of the convicts.

With all that said...I know a very, very select few convicts who DO walk the walk. I've watched them when they think I wasn't watching them, seen the choices they've made.

[Jimd]

Today was very stressful. Our block was running commissary, and invariably, the inmate turn into bloodthirsty beasts on this day.

Today is the third day I'm working this post (recently rotated), and they threatened to kill me. What a tribe of savages. I loathe them. They're like cockroaches in every respect. Cockroaches and monkeys.

Sorry if that sounds a little too intense, but that's where my feelings are right now. I literally hate most of their souls with a passion. I know hatred is wrong, but these people are so detestable as to defy description.

[Michael Cook]

Sir, you need to get out of this job. It's seriously harming you. There are always options.

[saracen]

These people are so detestable as to defy description.

You hit it right there Jimd.

Stay safe.

[DAYWALKER]

Sir, you need to get out of this job. It's seriously harming you. There are always options.

Personally, I think JimD should hook up with Mr. Kramer and take the T-Shirt/Poster industry for LEO, Military, Special Units, etc. by storm!!! ]CAN[/B] do it JimD...cripes, look at what you've accomplished and went through for over 15 years in ****? Apply that same "will" to a few calls to Mr. Kramer...plant that artwork seed while you're still in ****, as it will take time to grow. I planted my Knife design seed almost two years ago...and it's growing, slowly, but growing.

Take care JimD, and God bless you always.

[Jimd]

Personally, I think JimD should hook up with Mr. Kramer and take the T-Shirt/Poster industry for LEO, Military, Special Units, etc. by storm!!! ]CAN[/B] do it JimD...cripes, look at what you've accomplished and went through for over 15 years in ****? Apply that same "will" to a few calls to Mr. Kramer...plant that artwork seed while you're still in ****, as it will take time to grow.

Let's look at Mr. Kramer and I objectively and realistically:
His artwork is light years ahead of mine, literally. The chance of he and I teaming up is nearly nil, as he runs an extremely successful art sales distribution on his own. Teaming with me would offer him absolutely no benefit and no incentive.

I've been drawing, though, of late. Have a few new ones: A P-51 Mustang and an ME-109 that both came out looking beautiful.

I'm still trying to sell my artwork, but it's painfully slow going. I've had a few good sales (thanks, CDF!!), but not many.

[Jonny8642]

Have mixed feelings about this type of thing. Am enough of a realist to understand now that some of the "heros", "role models" and "mentors" of my youth were probably nowhere near as goody-goody as they made themselves out to be. But yet, their teaching served me well. Guess what I'm saying is, even if the inmates doing this are total phonies, their message may still manange to do SOME good in the communities that produce and inordinate percentage of the prison population.

After reading what Jimd, Daywalker, and sgt. had to say about this matter and reading your response Deacon. I know in some countys in colorado they have a scared straight program for trouble youth. Were schools and the county jail takes youth into the jails to talk to the inmates to find out what really happens if they keep getting into serius trouble. I believe that if inmates believe that they can help the community that fine, but they have to do it in jail and as part of their parole. Not just do it while they're in jail so that they can possibly get paroled earlier. I know that we don't live in a fantasy perfect world and that this solution is the perfect quick fix, but I now alot of the people on this forum and that we don't want some convict who said that they want to help the community to get out. When really they're just saying it so that they can get out sooner and go back to doing what they were doing before they went to jail. Remember people go to jail for a reason (or a few).

[Jimd]

Remember people go to jail for a reason (or a few).

That's what many forget. They act as if convicts were plucked from the street for no reason, and thrust into a horrendous situation. Some people would love to see all convicts freed, they can't bear to see people locked up. And I'm not being sarcastic, either.

****, some people think when convicts attack officers, they shouldn't be punished.