Prisons vs. resorts

Imagine, you re sitting in a courtroom, where a murder trial has just taken place. The Judge says John Doe, you have been found guilty of murdering John Smith and Lisa Franks. Now comes the sentence. I hereby sentence you to 4 years at the Utah County Resort. There, you ve be forced to enjoy a life of fine dining and wines. You ll have access to the latest in computer technology, as well as libraries full of valuable material to assist you in completing your college degree. You ll enjoy state of the art enertainment with the latest movies, digital cable, and big screen TV s. You ll also enjoy 3 all you can eat meals a day, with your choice of dozens of beverages. You ll enjoy heated floors in the winter, air conditioning in the summer. No need to worry about your health. While your there, you ll have full access to the latest in exercise equipment, and, with your personal trainer, you can develop a nutrition program. Lastly, if you d like, you can work while you ve in there, and save up a few thousand dollars. The judge brings down his gavel. John Doe has just been sentenced to a four year term of prison!

While this example may be exaturating a little, it s not far from the truth. In our prison system today, prisoners enjoy many luxuries. According to deputies at the Utah County Jail, prisoners are served 3 hot meals a day. Breakfast might consist of Eggs, bacon, cereal, fruit (they always get fruit), juice, and coffee. Also available at the Utah County Jail, prisoners have an open courtyard, where they have access to weights, basketball, and other recreational activities. While there prisoners can earn their GED, access books, computers, and watch cable TV. This is wrong. These prisoners are getting three meals a day, a roof over their heads, warm beds, cable T.V., recreational equipment, jobs that pay, and opportunities. Who could ask for anything more? There are people in the United States who don t get three meals a day and they re law abiding citizens. There are homeless people on the streets who don t have a roof over their heads, or beds to sleep in.

Let me ask you a question. What is the main goal of prisons in America today? I thought that a prisons was created not to ensure a great life for the prisoner, but to keep them away from the public, and to persuade them to never want to commit a crime again. We have allowed the prison system of America to become a joke. It s high time we change the prison system of America and save millions of dollars, and decrease crime in America.

With prisons being as luxurious as they are, it helps many people to rationalize committing a crime. A homeless person might think to himself, I m homeless, I have nothing. If I kill a person, I can get three meals a day, a warm bed, access to computers, showers, etc. Some people might say but prisoners do get punished. Their locked in a cell, they re separated from their family. To that I would say first, that they did the crime, they must pay the time. There has to be a punishment associated with the wrongdoing. Prisoners at the Utah County Jail are allowed an hour and a half of visiting time per week, with a maximum of 9 people. We need to buckle down and make prisons more miserable. Cruel and unusual punishment should be avoided, but we shouldn t offer so many luxuries that prison becomes appealing to people.