Why can’t people in US prisons access the internet?
"Bruk av internett i fengsel
Innsatte i fengsler med høyt og lavere sikkerhetsnivå har i utgangspunktet ikke tilgang til internett.
Unntaket er innsatte som tar utdanning under soning. De kan få begrenset og kontrollert tilgang til internett i undervisningsøyemed."
Translated by Google because I'm too lazy to type it all:
"Use of the Internet in Prison
Inmates in prisons with a high and lower security level do not initially have access to the internet.
The exception is inmates who take education during their sentence. They can have limited and controlled access to the internet for educational purposes."
Edit: forgot to add the URL
https://www.kriminalomsorgen.no/bruk-av-internett-og-sosiale...
But no internet? Definitely motivation for me to work hard in life and not end up imprisoned.
Some prisoners certainly shouldn't be allowed to access the internet. If you're in organized crime, being able to access the internet would give you an effective way of continuing your control from behind prison walls. Many prisoners might use the internet to continue attacks on people, albeit virtual. Does this apply to all prisoners? No. Should it apply to Hans Reiser? Maybe, I don't know enough to comment on that, his relationship with his kids, etc.
The US prison system is also often punitive beyond necessary which answers why they aren't allowed internet access in most circumstances. I think if you ask most Americans about prison, they'll say that people are raped and beaten in prison. Many Americans even seem to think those are appropriate accessory punishments to imprisonment. The news reported that Reiser was beaten in prison: https://web.archive.org/web/20090609172728/http://www.kcbs.c....
Should some prisoners be allowed more internet access? I'll leave that for others as my lunch is over.
I’m not saying that from a bleeding heart “prison should be a resort campout!” strawman perspective, but as someone who wishes people came out of prison kinder and more sociable than they went in.
I would much rather he be contributing to free software from behind bars. That's true more generally too. A plumber behind bars should be allowed to plumb. A carpenter to carpent.
Why shouldn't people in prison contribute back, if willing and able?
At most you are spending $200K divided by the total amount of tax levied multiplied by your share of that total. Probably less than $1.
Here: U+1F3C6
That said, I think at least part of it is related to risk to the outside population.
i.e. Inmates performing illegal activity or otherwise directing people on the outside to do so.
Yes, You can do that with phones and visits as well, however those are a bit easier to monitor.
The Purposes of Punishment:[^1]
- Incapacitation: prevents crime by removing a defendant from society.
- Rehabilitation: prevents crime by altering a defendant’s behavior.
- Retribution: prevents crime by giving victims or society a feeling of avengement.
- Restitution: prevents crime by punishing the defendant financially.
- Deterrence: Specific deterrence prevents crime by frightening an individual defendant with punishment. General deterrence prevents crime by frightening the public with the punishment of an individual defendant.
[^1]: https://open.lib.umn.edu/criminallaw/chapter/1-5-the-purpose...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_Fund_Limited_Inmate_Comp...
Despite what everyone says, few things are ideological in the USA. Most things are a savvy entrepreneur locking in income from an unconventional method to draw from taxpayer money.
Although in this case, Reiser seems to be at a minimum-medium class facility.