I only half agree with what is being asked, and now I am going to sound as if I am contradicting my posts of the other thread. I cannot comment on the United States, but in the United Kingdom we are all agreed that the death penalty will never happen in our lifetime at least. This means that murderers that are in our jails have, as well as committing their heinous crime, put the courts, the police, and the tax payer through enormous expense to arrive at their place of detention. It is this fact that leads me to believe that if we the tax payer have gone to great expense to keep this evil beast alive, then I don’t believe he has the right to abuse our generosity.

These murderers should be given work, and I don’t mean take them to a quarry and break rocks all day, or sewing mail bags, I mean real work. Build a factory in the prison that makes something useful, if they want tobacco, then if they don’t put in the hours then they get no tobacco. Each prisoner is responsible for the person next to him, if he messes up and don’t do his quota then they both lose out on their perks, so on and so forth. The surplice cash that the product brings is used for the running of the prison, IE: -food, heating, electricity, and the perk they are working for, even the guard’s pay. Work and stay warm and alive or sit back and watch others and freeze with no food, I’m sure that while they are working hard for 10 hours a day, they will too tired to give any trouble at night. This could also work for the ordinary prisoner, and in the case of thieves and robbers their profit would go as compensation to the victims of their crimes. I believe that it is the way to go, crime, punishment, retribution; I believe that my idea is the only true way that they can ever pay for their crimes. It is up to the government of the day to get real, make criminals pay back to the community what they have stolen, incarceration does not mean that they are in a hotel watching others work for their well being.

Regards ian 2411