Virgin Guard Assaulted

[LateThanNever]

If crappy prison conditions really prevented reoffending, America would have a tiny prison population, but they don't, it's the highest in the world, by capita.

Places that concentrate on rehabilitation have lower reoffending rates. A shocking number of prisoners have no education, and significant number also have severe mental problems. Locking them up doesn't fix either of those issues.

Someone with impulse control problems isn't going to think 'wow, prison was crappy, better not punch that person who is annoying me' they're just going to do it.

http://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-be-a-geek-in-a-prison

Is a very interesting page - the second response down is related to uk prisons.

There are a few people who need to be locked away forever, but most people can be useful members of society. I realise that this doesn't fit with the vengeance theme that is often trotted out when talking about justice, but if we want people not to repeat what they did, just locking them up won't help.

Couldn't agree more. This is logic that seems to me to be irrefutable.
The other point the Daily Mail and there ilk never seem to grasp is that prisons are so poorly staffed that they can work only on the basis of reasonable cooperation from the inmates. So a harsh regime - even if it did actually work -would be far more expensive than currently and the Daily Mail et al think prisons cost too much already....

 

[Jonny]

On a side note, she served part of her time in a federal prison in the USA, and commented that prisons here are like hotels by comparison - heating and lack of cockroaches being one of the differences. I'm not suggesting unsanitary conditions and letting prisoners freeze are good ideas, but if prison was a bit less cushy, maybe people like this idiot would think twice...

It sounds like your sister was convicted in the USA which seems to delight in handing out ridiculously long prison sentences for silly things, which are often because the prison officers' union has lobbied for longer sentences. Seriously (!!!)
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Just to add to this. One of my friends at work is an ex TPE/Virgin employee who is very good friends with the guard who was assaulted.

The guard had to spend 4 days in hospital and suffered internal bleeding as well as a slight bleed on the brain. Basically he was lucky, if you can really say that, that he did not suffer a worse outcome. This piece of human trash really laid into him and left him unconscious on the platform.

He is back at work now in a return to work programme as he wants to get back doing the job he loves as soon as he can.

That sounds more like ABH/GBH although they are sometimes described as Section <something> assault by the police depending on the level of intent and injuries suffered. It sounds like an under-charge though, as racially-aggravated ABH could have been made to stick. 16 months for "racially aggravated common assault" is about the most possible with an early guilty plea http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/...lly_or_religiously_aggravated_common_assault/.

 

[bnm]

It sounds like your sister was convicted in the USA which seems to delight in handing out ridiculously long prison sentences for silly things, which are often because the prison officers' union has lobbied for longer sentences.

If the sister now resides in England & Wales (there was mention of her comparison between US and UK jails) then she would still be subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Her 3 year sentence becomes spent and she no longer has to declare it in the UK 10 years from the date of conviction.

 

[PermitToTravel]

It sounds like your sister was convicted in the USA which seems to delight in handing out ridiculously long prison sentences for silly things, which are often because the prison officers' union has lobbied for longer sentences. Seriously (!!!)

Even better, they have things like private prison owners lobbying for three-strikes rules, and lobbying against cannabis decriminalisation.