Iria

Source: ZDNet UK
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The Home Office is planning to give inmates email access so they can keep in contact with their families.

A pilot project is on the drawing board to let some prisoners send plain-text emails to pre-approved email addresses.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the project will not go ahead until ministers have fully reviewed the proposal and are happy the emails will be monitored properly to prevent potential abuses.

Witchhunter

Prisoners already have internet in some prisons, in fact a guy I know knew got 3 years after admiting what he had done on his blog and was allowed to continue posting on the very same blog once a week from within the prison

I doubt this would be much different to letters, in fact it would probably cost the tax payer less.

MIG-31

Should of thought about that before they comitted the crime..The uk prisons are rapidly turning into 5 star hotels.

Oh boy how soft can the uk law become.there is NEVER any mention on the victims rights...

They say crime don't pay,what a joke thats turning out to be.

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Tinkerhell

They can join the American prisons then. We've been at the 5 star level for a while now. Cable TV, quality meals, top grade exercise equip, maid service (laudered sheets & clothes). What ever happened to chain gangs & breaking rocks? No wonder crime is as popular as ever...

__________________
Stupidity should be painful if not terminal.
Darwin for Sainthood!!

Witchhunter

Erm ok, their rights are mentioned all the time...unless you read trashy news rags like the Daily Mail or the Sun, it's all part of the process.

Anyway most prisoners aren't evil people and these are the people given the highly restricted access, which is often used to get them back on the right track. Getting people back on the right track which benefits everyone in society is NEVER mentioned

MIG-31

I would post this via a personal Message but i do think this should be a little more public.(and not aimed in a personal way).

Actually it's nothing to do with trashy newspapers,It's quite often said on all the media in general... Radio/tv and in general the opinion of the general public,and everyone i know... whats wrong with that opinion.You just get to read/Hear & view way too many (so called) Do Good people who simply stand up for the convicts rights,but yes this does depend on the crime committed.

And also note this i don't think all people in prison are evil,perhaps i should of made it a little clearer in the previous post (i tend to quick post) the is many imprisoned for many reasons which is pretty well known.As you said in another thread... Many Grey areas... same goes here!.

You have taken the wrong impression of what i said and what was meant..

This is a little personal but only intended to be aimed in a respectful way...

My mother had the shit kicked out of her a few year ago now,and at the age of 69 it was taken hard.just for her handbag and purse.You simply will not believe how much discomfort and the amount of running around for her just because she has not gained the strength or guts to bring her back to her normal self.

The person involved was caught and went to court.... the ashole only got 6 months (and released after 3 months) just because he pleaded 'Guilty and was very remorseful for doing so' to the judge.(bullshit in honesty)

Im not annoyed with you're quote Witchhunter but their is quite often a reason behind my posts....But please don't tell me the Victims get the better side of the law.So i can honestly say in my own opinion the uk law stinks....

Perhaps it could be a good thing to gain some facts before you criticise somebody.

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Witchhunter

Well what I said is based on my own experience which I suppose are facts. I have been attacked, multiple times by gangs in my area, and nothing at all has ever come of it (usually because there was no CCTV in the area...and no I am not comparing my situation to that of your mothers) yet I still disagree that victimes rights are "never" mentioned. As I mentioned I also know a guy who is in prison, he got 3 years for lying in court (3 years!!! although he'll probably do 1.5). While I don't think they should be entitled out right to TV's and email I don't see any problem with people like him having access so long as they're working while in prison.

When you said "there is NEVER any mention on the victims rights" I could only assume you were refering to the media and general public since that is where discussion starts and if the government are bringing it up we usually hear through the media. But victimes right rarely interests the mass media because (I presume) there's not as much money in it.

I think I've just agreed that laws are screwed up though, 3 years for lying in a court vs 6 months for attacking an (old?) woman. That's a different topic though isn't it?

MIG-31

It's certainly a good point indeed.... and the is many different points to what is called LAW...and sometimes the law does go against people for different reasons....

It all ends with what i define as 'good will' as you may also disagree with my side of the same opinion.

The is simply nothing wrong with any comment and i don't intend to show any disrespect to any one who has been in prison (in general).Just some aspects do seem to be one sided at the end of the day.

I'm not after a comparison on ther two sides of that.But the two pehaps should be reversed!

But Sometimes after all you have to question a judges opinion of the law,leaves somebody a little curious sometimes.

Perhaps the government and judges has to become more synchronised with the definition of the law thats involved.

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Dowaco

I do think that prisons should be a place to keep those who have broken the law segregated from the rest of society. Criminals should have some of their rights restricted including the right to bear arms, to vote, to liberty and the pursuit of happiness and sometimes to life itself. They should not IMO have the freedom to communicate with whomever they please, be entertained at the taxpayer's expense or be able to conduct criminal activities while in jail.

Prison should be an emotionally neutral place with a no frills routine. Get up do 1 hour of exercise, then eat, work for 4 hours, eat, work for 5 hours, eat, have 3 hours of instruction, 1 hour of study/reading, sleep. repeat everyday for as long as they are incarcerated. The work should benefit the community in some way. No TV, no radio, no iPods, no computers, no personal possessions of any kind. They should be supervised 24 hours a day with no privacy. Anyone who commits a crime in prison should have their sentence doubled for each offence and lifers should get the death penalty.
If you can't do that time then don't do the crime.

Once a prisoner is released and has served his time, all rights of society should be regained. No job descrimination, no blacklists, no having their names and addresses published. Clean slate.

Witchhunter

Of course this is just my opinion from my experience and from what I have read but...I believe history has proven that harsh punishment alone does not work, otherwise we'd be crime free by now. A combination of prison segregation from society and rehabilitation has shown in most cases to be the best course of action (second to solving the cause of the problem) for both the criminal and society as a whole, otherwise we just output the input. Of course this is rarely given a chance due to cost and civilized society's thirst for revenge.

BlueMak

Do you guys have this "excellent" system there as we have in Greece? We have prisoners' leaves here. Prisoners, no matter what the crime, are entitle to leaves over the year. Of course things happen like last xmas here where 21 prisoners decided to not return after their week or so leave. Among them, murderers, thieves, rapists. What an excellent system. Also if one is found guitly with murder he can be free after 15-20 years no questions asked.
Oh yeah, super system.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

LeanWolf

yeah in sweden prisoners also get leaves. what they get up to on leave is often in the news..

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Zelig

You seen the supermax prisons? 23 hours of solitary confinement in your puny room per day, and then 1 hour of solitary exercise.

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Tinkerhell

Yes, but I would likely argue that those in such confinement should likely be put to death instead (just my guess, no facts on what sort of criminals are in such facilities).

Yeah I'm a bit harsh. I agree with rehab for many cases but a serious part of that rehab should include severe punishment to get the point that its not worth it to do the crime again. That's the problem now with much of the American penal system. The criminals often come from VERY poor VERY BAD neighborhoods. They go to jail, get 3 squares a day, get tv's and computers & workout equip & time to use all this stuff it it's like a stay at the Ritz for them. They would NEVER have access to this stuff in the places they come from. Yeah, they have a chance of unwillingingly becoming someone's boyfriend and they don't have any privacy. They could die, but so what, that's a daily part of life for many of these people anyway. What Dowaco outlined is a good starting place. Work means work - backbreaking tedious manual labor that in a very direct way benifits the community on the state they are housed in the "harshness of this should be based on the crime committed. If they are not in for life then it should be some type of "trade skill" which will serve them once out of prison. School/education should be a manditory part of things for none lifers as well. No recreactional activities outside of just some outdoor time. They can jog in circles or play kickball or football (touch american or "soccer") but that's about it. I think all none group time should be solitary confinement time also. All cells should be sized just for one.

__________________
Stupidity should be painful if not terminal.
Darwin for Sainthood!!

The_Neon_Cowboy

should read

as unless they read every email 1st and can catch any hidden "code talk" they are
going to allow bad things to happen...

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Dowaco

Kyle:
I miss seeing you. Thanks for the Myspace link, I got the message.
Look, as you know I have 29 more years to go on my sentence for killing that bloke.
Lol. I would give 20,000 Quid to ease my mind of some of the things that have happened.

Here in prison, I find I can't sleep nights thinking about what I have done.
Every time I dream I think of that fine babe I was dating and how she betrayed me.
Regards to the family.

4/7/07
Mitch
England Swings Like a Pendulum Do, Bobbies on Bicycles Two by Two

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Dowaco

Say hey Mitch,
Hows it hangin
Eating well?
Say Hi to Fingers for me.

Don't worry about your girl,
Ellen wanted to say hi too but she has gone away I am afraid.
All good things must end.
Do you self a favor and think positive thoughts, buddy.

This message was cleared for electronic delivery by the Department of Corrections.