What (if any) rights or priveliges do you think 'lifers' should be allowed?Is it fair to take away all rigts or priveliges as soon as they take anothers life no matter the circumstances?Or is it possible to pick and choose based on the crime itself?

I'm not sure I understand the question. I guess I'd have to say, based on what I can surmise from what you ask, that all lifers should be given the same privileges regardless of the crime.

Yeah I guess that's what I am saying....ALOT of various people seem to believe once you take someone's life for whatever reason you have NO rights and deserve NO 'priveleges'. I don't know exactly how I feel on this as I am trying hard to be objective.

Even though someone has killed, they're still human beings who deserve humane treatment, otherwise what does that make us as a society? We make ourselves no better than the criminal if we mistreat prisoners no matter what their crime. Being locked up in prison is the punishment for the crime. Inhumane treatment heaped upon that is a criminal act by the society that would require or allow it. To lock someone up and then take away all privileges on top of that would be inhumane.

Although not all people do kill, all people have the potential within them TO kill, given the right circumstances. If we are in denial of that part of ourselves, then it's easy for us to dehumanize the one who does kill and to believe that he or she doesn't deserve the same human rights that we all are entitled to. On the other hand, there are some who know full well that they have the potential to kill and they hate that part of themselves, so they project that hatred onto others who have killed and therefore want to heap punishment on the killer beyond what humane treatment requires.

All prisoners are treated with the same basic respect (such as it is) and have a set of inmate rights and assorted privileges which can be earned within any institution.

Every DOC and the BOP have been sued into it over the recent past. That's the theory.

The range of privilege varies by need and assets within an institution or system.

What separates the folks inside is not the crime, nor the length of time, but whether or not they manage to earn the scant few precious privileges available to them for requisite non-disruptive behavior within their facilities.

If they can't manage to stay out of the guard's way, there is a cure for that.
If they can't manage to stay out of their neighbor's way, or can't get out of thier OWN way, there is a cure for that.

They ( ANY prisoner in the system) will be living with the bearest minimum allowable (by law and policy) amenities.
Any act they undertake inside which runs contrary to policy will be ajudicated by something resembling Due Process and it's no surprise to anyone.

If they manage to do nothing to disrupt the flow, and nothing to run contrary to policy,.. they can manage to have each and all of the privileges available to any prisoner with that behavior. Some restrictions to privilege follow housing units, or work assignments, but generally,-- They can earn whatever privilege that is available to them. They can lose it too, in response to offenses committed within the institution.

It's in the prison's best interest to have some meager reward for good behavior. It's not in anyone's best interest to have none.

Most people figure that out before they've done too much time.

i THINK ALL PRISONERS ARE SUFFERING ENOUGH BY BEING IN PRISON. i DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE THIS ANY WORSE. eVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES.... SOME WORSE THAN OTHERS BUT IT ISN'T OUR PLACE TO JUDGE

All prisoners should be treated the same but regardless of the 'crime' but, unfortunately, this never happens.

I expect there are others on this site who would agree with me on this. I've found that those who were on Death Row before Ryan's clemency certainly aren't being treated like all the others. There are a lot a staff who look at them with a completely different attitude. It seems they think the ex Row inmates should have been legally murdered and it reflects on the way the way they are treated.

Rose

My husband is seving life with out. They don't get treated the same. If some one was to jump on my husband they would get put in the hole for 30-60 days. Even if he doesn't fight the guy who jumps him they'll throw him in the hole for 5 years. Is that fair? There are all sorts of little things their treated differntly about

My gosh-------five years??? What's the reasoning behind that? My guy said that if he gets thrown in the hole, all of his stuff except his TV would get sent home and he'd have to get everything over again. That sucks! He wouldn't get the TV back for 90 days, either. Considering that he makes major Native American crafts like breastplates and chokers and sells them in town, that's hundreds of dollars worth of crafting materials that he'd have to replace again and he doesn't get anything from me, either, so he'd have to try to get everything again the hard way.

Hello.. everyone.. hope your all well.. me i am hanging in..
as far as rights and privelages.. i look at my situation as this..
my husband/boyfiriend was convicted and sentenced to lwop. ( i will always believe in his innocence) another forum.. any way i feel that if someone is doin life/w/ or w/o parole.. they should at least have physical contact with family and be able to have some sort of relationships with family..

i know this is biased because of my situation but i just feel if there is a long sentence.. 20+ or longer why not!! they need something.. to look forward too.. or have in their lives.. i also feel marriage and conception should be allowed and approved of.. massachusetts has nothing positive .. it is all very punitive. and barbaric and non rehab.. they are literally thrown out on the streets.. budget cuts .. are really not helping out here.. thanks for this forum

stay strong..
Donna

Life is hard, "Life" (in prison) is harder, especially so from the power that the System exercises over the inmates. Whenever one segment of a society has complete control over another, the human decency of the controllers, and the human dignity of the controllees, erodes and is finally erased. Throughout history, this has never failed. But before now we haven't had the means to communicate and organize. Are we ready and strong enough now? Can PTO be an agent of change?