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Comment by robotnikman | Hacker News Reader

It seems to be changing slowly but surely, thankfully.

There was a recent post on Reddit made by a prisoner [1] (who was in for life for murdering his sister) who has a locker full of manga, books, MtG cards, and a tablet with minecraft (which he rooted to allow for sideloading of apps). He says he feels very comfortable with the prison life there. I never expected this from a prison in the state of Georgia of all places.

This is only one anecdote, but it struck me as surprising when I heard of it. The more we start to focus prisons on rehabilitation instead of just punishment, the better.

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/Prison/comments/q96ixg/this_is_what...

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He's an interesting case.

> [...] I was a young kid who thought I was smart and clever and thought I knew people. Prison dunked my head in a cold river of reality. Many people in these prisons have a strong criminal mindset. You learn by fucking up that there are always people who have had it worse, are more clever, stronger, but also more debased, cruel, and uncaring. From this though I have been forced to overcome my autism symptoms. I was thrown off by loud noises, physical contact, and was completely socially inept before I came to prison. Free world society softly caters to autistic kids but in prison you have no choice but to confront your mental health. In short, prison is an adverse environment which can bring out the good, or more often the bad, in people. As a young kid I learned quick that I couldn't rely on any staff or inmates as far as trust goes. I quickly saw I wasn't going to be babied and if I didn't fight for myself and who I was I would be lost. Not everyone becomes a paragon, very few do. [...]

Not sure what to make of him. He's very forthcoming about what he did, but evasive about the why.

I think he genuinely doesn't know, and he isn't being evasive so much as expressing his own confusion. There's video of his confession on YouTube and he just directly admits to murder. The whole thing is in a flat voice and he looks borderline catatonic. It's a really strange case.

He arguably belongs in a forensic mental health institution rather than a prison. Or maybe normal prisons should be more like hospitals.

> I have no reason, it was a normal night and I just... I just got up and shot her like I was getting a cup of coffee. I feel horrible for it but I make no excuses, I'm where I'm supposed to be living a life better than I deserve.

This is the most fascinating guy I've seen on Reddit in the past year.

Alas it appears that it is that way because the prison is extremely short staffed and they have to let a lot slide, rather than any progressive attitude toward prisoner reform.

Consider how airlines stopped charging money for movies/TV and now encourage everyone to consume it because it keeps them quiet.

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