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| Inmates Get Too Much From New York Taxpayers |
| By shawangunkjournal.com - Vinny Blasio |
| Published: 03/16/2012 |
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I recently read an article about prison life in your newspaper. What I find amusing is the references to "honor" status and prison being like a "concentration camp." Should a place like prison really have honor status? If inmates are to re-enter society, shouldn't they have to act responsibly? There are no "honor status" facilities in the world outside of corrections. Furthermore, I have never seen this notation used to label any NY State Correctional facility, and comparing a correctional facility to a concentration camp does injustice to those that actually lived and died during the Holocaust. To compare the Holocaust to prison life is an extreme point of view, to say the least. I also cannot understand how someone would combine references for an "honor facility" and a "concentration camp" in the same sentence. Inmate populations are usually convicted by a jury of their peers. Which leads to me the next issue: just what do inmates get in prison? Most of the inmate population receives more amenities than our senior citizens. Imagine living in a world with cable television, gym memberships, and outside recreation areas all provided at no cost. Now add to that free and immediate health care. Where does one find such an amazing world with all these free amenities? Inside the razor wire of New York State prisons. These luxuries are ones that most New York taxpayers can ill afford themselves, but yet they are provided to these inmates compliments of New York State. While taxpayers are struggling, cutting their own household budgets and eliminating these same amenities, inmates suffer no cutbacks, and are not asked to pay for these services they enjoy so freely. Located across New York State are sixty prisons , or as the NYS Department of Correctional Services terms them, "Correctional Facilities." Each one has either satellite or cable television, including premium stations such as ESPN. Most facilities even have a movie night, where a video is rented from Blockbuster or Netflix and played on all prison televisions via a taxpayer-furnished VCR. In some prisons there are even super-premium services like HBO. According to a Fox News article, the "average monthly cable bill in at least one prison amounts to $84.59." What about the spacious gyms prisons have, rivaling most college or high school facilities; in essence, each New York inmate is provided a free health club membership. The only thing that might differ from one prison to another are the amounts of free weights or weight machines present. They also have basketball courts and can be retrofitted to accommodate volleyball courts, indoor running tracks, or anything that a gym would provide in the outside world. There are also ping pong tables and paddles provided to inmates and at the Gowanda Correctional Facility, a full-size pool table. While the New York State Legislature argues about dire economic times, one thing is constant in New York prisons; their gyms are being utilized free of charge with state taxpayers is footing the bill. As if these gymnasiums were not enough, each New York prison also has an outdoor recreation area available for use — vast, park-like recreation areas where you will find more televisions, weight equipment, basketball courts, handball courts, softball diamonds, and even horseshoe pits. As New York struggled in its attempts to have state parks open for the Memorial Day weekend, inmates were in no fear of their park-like taxpayer-funded recreation areas closing, and won't be for any foreseeable future. Read More. |
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Vinny really good commentary from a fellow CO. Sometimes I think the press has the idea that state prisons and county jails are harsh incarceration, severe punishment and no privileges. Far from the truth as you and I know all to well. The NYSCOC regulates exactly what inmates can and cannot have and the list is getting longer as to what they must be given at taxpayer expense. The biggest influence on NYS regulation of prisons began at the Attica riots in the 70s when huge consessions were given to prisoners by the state. What upsets me is seeing how many of our fellow officers were killed during that riot. I agree that for the long future there will be more privileges given to prisoners in NY state to appease them and prevent frivolous lawsuits like the goofball that sued because his green uniform wasn't pressed after washing. I do wish some of these people before they write an article to walk a mile in our shoes in a real prison or jail and then judge it on that 24 hour internship.