Not Punishment Enough

Recent articles and letters in the local media have contended that prisoners in both federal and provincial jails are treated with too much concern for their rights and not enough emphasis on punishment. Mandatory release (the release of a person after completing 2/3 of their sentence) is granted too lightly and there is no emphasis on making a prisoner take programs aimed at rehabilitation. Drugs are rampant and the guards complain they have no real recourse as visitors have too many rights. As a former inmate in both kinds of institutions I know this is a lot of nonsense, but the gains prisoners have made in obtaining what rights they do have is still bothering guards, unions, and the public, who would be just as happy if we just shot everyone upon conviction for almost any crime. I can remember spending 15 days under the old cow barn in Okalla eating bread and water and being allowed out for 1/2 hour daily to empty a slop bucket and clean up. We could shower every so often but I have lost the memory of how often that was. I was sent to isolation on several occasions. Every time it was for either flying without a plane or for paraphernalia. I've lost "good time" (this is the 1/3 of the sentence that you do on mandatory parole) on several occasions but was never isolated federally. In the pen they let you fly as long as you didn't crash. Every time I was in prison it was for possession of narcotics. It was sometimes for the purpose but never for a direct or indirect sale. This proves that I never sold drugs to strangers. I spent 12 years of my life in prison for giving people I knew drugs that they asked for. I knew what I was doing and what the consequences were. I never complained about anything that happened as long as the rules, as they existed, were followed. I know the public is tired of the crime and violence that is occurring today. I share a lot of their frustration. The difference is that I blame the current war on drugs and the concurrent black market for the problem. Saying the law is the law and expecting people to accept what goes on is no longer feasible. Prohibition was based on racism and fear and was backed by a program of lies and misconceptions. That people in prison for drug crimes are no longer behaving themselves is the direct result of the disrepute that drug laws are now held in. The criminalization of marijuana, which is now proved to be less harmful than alcohol, must end. To expect prisoners, incarcerated for crimes they see as harmless, to behave is foolish. Steven Harper wants to send more people to prison. The recent riot at Frazer Correctional is the result of current prison overcrowding. Do people really want more money spent on more prisons to hold harmless pot smokers or addicts that need treatment or maintenance?I certainly hope not. Private prisons in the United States have proved to be nightmares, with poor food, medical and pay for guards. Harper would like to see us head down that road here in Canada. I would ask anyone that disagrees with this direction to write to your MP and express your concern.