Alabama is in a money crisis. That is the reason for its poor public education system as well as its horrible prison conditions. Since the state cannot just have a bake sale, a car wash, or any other cute fundraisers and because the citizens no not want to endure anymore taxation, especially not taxation that directly helps prisoners, the issue of the Alabama prison systems should be dealt with through legal efforts and restructuring methods.
After Grace Graham's lecture, I began to relate to the prisoners on a much more personal level than I have ever done before now. I imagined myself in their shoes. It is bad enough that they have horrid living conditions, poor food quality, and medical neglect problems. It is worsened tenfold when we realize that some of them have to say in prison for decades.
If prison is meant as a punishment, it should be a horrible thing. However, I propose that law violators, at least those who have committed petty crimes, not be sentenced to such long periods in prison. It is my theory that if the stays were shortened then the prisoners would have less time to build up hate and animosity for the outside world that keeps them locked up. If the prisoners are not quite so angry, then they will be less likely to commit crimes against the society that has punished, abused, and humiliated them. Less time in jail would mean less suffering and less vengeance sprung from suffering.
On the economic side, if the prisoners had shorter terms, the state could have better, less packed prison living situations as well as saving money that it takes to support the inmates.
However, this approach does not tackle the root of the issue. It does not give any clue how the state could possibly afford better living conditions. There is a radical approach to dealing with this issue, but I tread lightly in presenting it.
What if the state of Alabama employed the prisoners in factory positions at a company run by the state? The prisoners would be manufacturing items that could be sold to pay for their prison terms, thus not burdening the tax payers and allowing for more funding to be put to their medical causes. It would put the prisoners to work, possibly take their minds off of striking back at the communities, ensure that they would be capable of re-joining the work force after their release, and be a productive form of punishment. Of course not all prisoners could be involved in this sort of labor; some are too dangerous or severely mentally ill. As far-fetched as this idea might seem, and as difficult to put into practice as it might be, it is better than the current money-pit, humanitarian violation issues that Alabama prisons are currently facing.
Prisoners are people, too. They do not deserve to be treated like forgotten, beaten circus animals. Any of us or any of the people we know could one day end up in prison, and I am sure that we would not want to be neglected, starved, and forgotten. Individuals need to step up and consider alternative ways of handling these issues.
