Well after calculating prisoners vs. staff, I came up with 5.5 prisoners per guard (that's if they were talking about 643 guards as their staff). Needless to say, more staff would be a logical answer, but I know California is having a hard time with the economic situation just like we all are.
Without hiring more staff, I would say the answer would be smaller groups of prisoners being allowed leisure time, etc. until staff can manage more at a time. I know it sucks being locked in a small room for long periods of time, but, in the long run, it's for the prisoners safety as well as the staff.
I think this could have been avoided and handled in a more humane way. I just cannot believe that shooting live ammo into a riot is a best practice for anyone. I agree with using force when needed after-all these are dangerous people. I agree with Leanne in regards to maybe hiring more guards to balance out the ratios, but the real question is why there are so many inmates in the first place? If we could take the funds out of corrections and put it toward prevention would that yield us a better outcome? What other opportunities have been provided and offered to these men? Our current method is clearly not working. I think that shooting at them only solidifies their survival mentality and we have shown then nothing different. My experience with rubber bullets is that they are pretty effective in stopping undesired behavior. Maybe the prisons could increase their gang intelligence in the prison to know when things like this are going to go down.
cjmeeke I am just not sure what people expect officers to do when inmates defy authorities. Shooting into the crowd will only alienate the prisoners and in return make future situations harder to control. I wonder if that was the only way to stop the men associated with the riot. I think the prisoners might want re think the act of rioting now that this has happened. It is hard to image the stress that those officers are under being in a violate situations. I would tend to agree with the idea of hiring more officers so that the ratio is balanced. It sounds to me like the officers did everything possible. What was the protocol in regards to this matter and was it meet. If Johnny Cash was still alive he could do another concert and remove all the tension. This is a bigger problem and until California politicians can work together and solve their financial issues problems like these are going to happen
When a group of individuals of different backgrounds, ideas, and cultures are in an overcrowded situation the likelihood of disturbances grow based on the space and the number of people which are shoved into this space. Then throw in the mix, a mental issue or an emotional issue, and the scene is primed for chaos. The correctional officers have a tough job when the guard to inmate ratio is minimal at best. However the lock down is a situation of the prisoners own making. Bad behavior results in consequences that force time for thought and preferably repentance. The kids get “Time Out”. Until there are some improvements in the overcrowded prisons, are you surprised?
The article states, and I quote, "We tried to control the situation with chemical agents dispersed over the crowd..." What kind of chemical agents do they use?? I agree that they should probably hire more workers...but with it being Folsom, who knows how many more they can hire under the conditions.
After reading the article, I feel that the prison guards reacted appropriately. They first used two non-lethal means to gain control of the riot with no positive effect. When the chemical agents and rubber bullets didn’t stop the fighting, live fire did. The fighting needed to be stopped as quickly as possible before inmates were maimed and beaten to death by other inmates. The positive outcome is that no inmate lost his life and the guards were not injured.
The article states that the prison has experienced quite a bit of fighting between its inmates lately. If this violence is possibly and probably the result of the different gangs in the prison trying to establish dominance, then I second the recommendation of CMS8876 by increasing their gang intelligence at the prison. I don’t mean to seem crude and barbaric, but now I think that the inmates might realize after this incident that when the last rubber bullet is fired in an attempt to break up a riot, that lead bullets could soon follow. This could be a deterrent in itself.
I agree with Rita, that when you have a diversified group of individuals in a small confined area, that emotions and tempers are bound to flare. I don’t pretend to know an answer, but for the amount of money that is spent on the prison system, there are bound to be some type of improvements that could be made to encourage prisoners to become socially acceptable beings. Instead they seem to learn how to become “worse” criminals, learning new evil traits. I don’t blame the jailers for their reactions because how else could you react to a bunch of wild behavior except back with extreme behavior. I personally would not want to spend 8 hours a day working in such a stressful and depressing job .Even though I don’t expect prison to be a country club, it should still be a humane area. As bad a place that I would suspect that prison is, it doesn’t seem to be a deterrent to crime. It could be due to media hype, being glamorized or because it has become such a common fixture in our lives, the fear of prison is decreasing. Even though corrections are just one part of the justice system, it is the last stop on the justice system chain, and it could be the weakest link.
Its very simple...when you cage people like they are animals, they will eventially fight like animals. It is the "fight or flight" syndrome. In this case, there is no option to "flight" so only one choice remains and these prisoners live in fear for their lives 24 hours a day. This is sad and an issue we prefer not to think about..."out of sight, out of mind". I do believe we need some system for law and order that will ensure safety for law abiding citizens, but I'm not sure we're going about it by locking up prisoners with others like them. When you put a mentally unstable person in a cage with another one. Someone is bound to be affected badly. There is no room to rehabilitate at this point. Many may break the law and still be able to be guided in a better direction. However, as soon as you throw them to the wolves...its all over and almost impossible to reverse the affects. Since I cannot change this system, in this situation, I would only be able to suggest that prisoners not be allowed to be in such large groups at the same time. They should also not be mixed in any way with rivals. The threat of outbreaks such as this would surely decrease when not presented with a threat.
Most people would look at the inmates that got shot but not me i look at the peple who shot them and what they stand for and what they do for us here on the outside world. When you take a job as a gaurd in a hight risk jail you have to watch out for not only your self but the other that work along side of you and te people you are there to watch over. These inmates een sent here because they can not control them selfves on the outside. You may look at me bad but those gards may have just save a live that could of been damages when these inmates have gotten out. I have no pitty on them I see that were doing what we had ask for them when the job was given to them. I leave my safety in there hand. never in my life could i take a job that would risk me and my family and i feel lucky that someone has step up and done this for me
If you can't hang with the big dogs, stay on the porch. If you don't want to be treated like a criminal, then don't act like one. Is there an answer? NO. Or at least there is no one right answer. Everyday the guards have to work as if they might be faced with a riot that they may or may not be able to handle. If the guards would not have stopped the riot when they did, then who knows how many individuals would have been injured or even killed. The fact that they tried to get their attention in a more humane way...says a lot. I agree with many, that there needs to be more prison employment of guards, although I still also agree with the fact that if their is a need to use force in order to control a population of criminals, then DO IT! These riots are apparently not getting any better and unless the guards do something about it, it will continue to rise and become even more of a problem. Do whatever you have to do to get those being jailed to still fear the prison system (agreeing with jpokluda) and it not be a place where they can have fights at the expense of the guards.
I think that Jessica brings up a very good point. These are criminals who more than likely disserve to be in a medium security penitentiary with MAYBE the exception of a handful of prisoners. Regardless, I believe that those who say something more "humane" should have been done.. well there is only so much that can be done before the prisoners wind up killing each other or the facility staff. There were less harming tactics used before the officers were forced to use more penetrating efforts. No one was killed, someone could have been, these are all factors to also be taken into consideration. Although it may be a bold statement to make, I do not feel any pity for those prisoners who were injured by the shots of the police officers. These prisoners are all aware of the possible outcomes when it comes to violating prison rules or acting out. While it is possible that not all the individuals could have avoided becoming a part of the riot that took place, who's to say that a hundred out of the two hundred did not have to get involved. Maybe if it had only been one hundred prisoners rioting the more "humane" efforts would have been effective. I think the officers actions are completely justifiable, they not only stopped the riot within thirty minutes but also no one was critically injured.
I am not trying to sound funny or be silly. Why not create human like robots and allow them to shock, taised, maneuver and strong arm prisoners in riot situation. Of course, I know it might be a high price to pay for such equipment but it will differently protect a guard from getting injured in a riot break out incident. It is easy for us to sit here and say the use of force should be minimal but not knowing the mental,physical, and psychological state of some of these prisoners can make a difference between life and death. These prisoners are skilled and have mastered all kins of ways to administered harm up to death of a person in the simple use of equipment in their presence. I am for the use of deadly force if it is justifiable and enforcement of rules against anyone found guilty of wrongful acts including guards.
This riot seems to make me think, these inmates fought for that long even after they used chemicals to get them to cease. Either these inmates were really fighting as with gang related influences, or they were planning something. It is amazing what people will do, especially inmates, usually all they want is to get out and maybe that was their plan. Possibly they could have wanted to be injured just to be out of prison for a moment. Even though they obviously were not “free” they were still out of the prison atmosphere. However most likely this might have been a gang related riot because of the amount of inmates that were involved. These inmates do not know anything else but their gang; they eat, sleep, and breathe their gang. So for them getting injured in the process was a normal action. Their gang is what probably what got them in prison but that’s not how they see it. These poor guys do not stand a chance in the real world because they do not have a sense of reality; the gang life is not a normal reality. The life of gang members are what alter the “actual society” that the rest of us live in, but they are in crime in our society. These riots are result from the fights and brawls that they have outside of the prison bars, in society.
I think the officers acted appropriately during the riot. No one was killed and there were few injured from an event that could have had a huge number of fatalities or injuries if the officers had not acted the way they did.
I agree with the fact that yes more staff would maybe...MAYBE..lower the number of riots but the governor is already cutting the education portion of California's budget and I don't think taking even more money from California's education system is the right answer. Other than that it's hard to figure out what could be done to prevent other riots from happening because after all they are criminals and are naturally going to be angry and revolt against authority. I say they should investigate and watch for the leaders of riots and punish them by taking away more and more given rights until they are made an example out of to other prisoners hopefully making them think twice about starting another riot?
The way the situation at prison was handled could have been handled in a different way and more sufficient way. To use live rounds on human beings is outrages especially if there is nowhere for them to go. They could have used different tactics to control the riot. It is surprising nobody was shot and killed. In the article it gives the statistic of inmates to guards and guards are way out numbered and this is why the riot took over thirty min to control. If the prison would hire more guards this situation could have been avoided. Maybe more training on controlling riots should be done in order to control riots in a more sufficient way and quicker way. I believe this riot could have been caused due to gangs and gang related dispute. Maybe if the different gangs are separated this situation could have been avoided also. They also could have used different weapons in order to control the riot. The prison has experienced a lot of violence over the past 130 years so this could taken into consideration in order to get more control over the prison. The prison did a poor job at controlling the riot maybe in future accuracies they will be better trained to handle the situation.
Ok so they say they have been around for about 130 years. Wouldnt they by now have a better more sufficient way of taking care of this situation. Sure they have had riots before. I agree with Cordell, we should have some type of robot that can go in and taise or shock. I understand how the entire nation is going a bad enconomic situation. But what about all those private sectors California has?.. Having more staff would be very helpful. Staff that has special training. Many people who are not at fault are being killed in those riots. California's politicans need to get it together and come up with a reasonable solution to this problem. Well wait, MORE STAFF WOULD BE THE FIRST STEP!
In every prison, there are certin guidlines that the officers has to follow, in this issue they was just trying to protect the other people that was around. Once the fist step in the procedure is followed then I belive that it is nessary to do what they have to do to protect them selves and others. No I know that it's not fare to other to have to loose there vists, or daily acitivties, however you have to remember that you have to have some type of control in the system. I think they should go back and get other type of weapons to use is issue of this matter.
I could comment on how the guards could have taken less severe measures and could have dealt with the riot in a more reasonable manner. However, the issue comes down to over-crowding in prisons, therefore creating an environment where it is difficult to maintain order if such situations develop. The decision to fire live rounds at the inmates by the guards was clearly a last resort during a situation that was out of control of the outnumbered guards. This is not to sound like I'm defending the actions of the guard who were clearly wrong to do so. However, the environment created due to prison overcrowding means these situations are more likely to occur. When they do, it is hard to carry out reasoned, logical decisions, especially when so outnumbered and when several other methods have failed. This reaction by the the guards was the fault of the prison system and not of the guards themselves. As a result, relationships between the guards and inmates are likely to be severally tainted and trust broken, creating the possibility for a repeat incident to be directed at the guards themselves. Such problems can be addressed by concentrating the amount of inmates in each prison facility (by building more facilities or dealing with crime at face value), or take on more guards to deal with the vast amount of inmates in each facility. However, with economic resources already spread as far as they can in correction facilities, and the ever sporadic increases in criminal activity, the ideal solution to help deal with such situations as that at Folsom prison is becoming more uncertain. Something has to happen to help prevent such extreme measures having to be taken by prison guards.
Riots are going to happen, there is no way to control every single inmate. These people are in prison for a reason, alot of them for violent reasons. with all the prisoners, fights and maybe even riots will happen. when stoping these riots force has to be used. firing weapons is a last resort but if it has to be done then i guess it has to be done. i wouldnt consider it brutality, if shots were not fired more inmates could have been injured. if the riot contiued long enough inmates could have been killed by other inmates. not every inmate will agree with other inmates so arguments and fights will happen. one thing does lead to another and a simple fight could spark into a riot. another reason the shots could have been fired was to protect the gaurds.
Why doesn't Johnny Cash just go record there again and make all the inmates peaceful...I see no problems with this theory, such as that worked the first time and Johnny Cash is still alive and well. Right? Enough with my ridiculousness now, but in prisons riots unfortunately are going to happen. Guards must do their best to prevent it, but with approximately 1 guard to every 5.5 prisoners makes things weighted in favor of the prisoner. Gentile is on record as saying that other methods to suppress the fighting were attempted first, before they resorted to perhaps shooting fish in the barrel. Unfortunately in prison situations this is unavoidable at times, though things have gotten better as societies have grown and technology has advanced. The occasional outbreak is still predictable however. I think the more intriguing question is not the cause of this outbreak, but rather is it the apple that spoils the barrel or the barrel (or situation in life that the prisoners are put in) that spoils the apples?
Ok, my first thought after reading this article was why in the Sam Hill would they open fire on a bunch of inmates just because they wouldn’t stop fighting? That opens the door of a million other reasons behind what’s wrong with our prison staff and our criminal justice system. They could’ve kept going with be rubber bullets and eventually those criminals would’ve stopped all the rioting and noise making that they were carrying on. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have half of the problems that occur these days in our prison systems if they would sit down and come up with a plan to hire way more better qualified prison guards. The ratio of guards to prisoners is outrageously imbalanced and if we keep up with these madness, it wont be long before the prisoners to take them out one by one. As they realize that its more of them (prisoners) than it is guards. Then a good chunk of our federal system will be looking liking straight clowns for not hiking up the number of guards against those goons we call prisoners. LOL
This is what happens in prisons you know, especially medium and low security prison systems because of the liberties that the inmates have. In this particular case where the inmates outnumber the off officers and trained staff more than two times it is not unusual for inmates to start riots because their learned behavior; they know that they can overpower the guards. Case and point no officers were hurt in this riot but collectively there seven injured inmates. The article mentioned that they didn’t open fire until other measures were taken. Such as, chemical agents and rubber bullets which were not affective. The punishment for the inmates because of the riot was lock down which could last for a number of weeks. Locking people down without any privileges including no visits will only bring the animal out more. However the inmates have to learn that this kind of behavior in not acceptable. The repercussions will demonstrate to the inmates and to outside criminals that lock down will happen and being locked up and locked down can happen. Just another reason why people should not go to jail, avoid being treated like caged animals, no rights and no options.
If i'm correct, Folsom State Prison is a maximum security prison. I believe the guards weren't in the wrong for doing what they did. They first used gas which didn't work, next came rubber bullets which had no effect, so the last option was to fire real bullets that resulted in wounding five people. In Tookie Williams book Life in Prison, I remember him talking about the different means of force used by guards within the prison if a fight or riot were to break out. Rubber bullet guns that was nicknamed the Hammer and gas canisters were used in both prisons. In result, no one was killed and all those who suffered injury will be fine. The guards did what needed to be done to prevent further incidents.
Things like this are bound to happen at any jail/prison. There is always room for improvement to help keep people safe. I think that the guards should be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on to help prevent such things from occuring. As far as the guards opening up fire into a crowd of 200 I think we can have a better plan put into place for future riots. I dont think it was the best thing to fire into a large crowd like this, but since they had already tried different methods previous to this, it was probably the only thing left that they could think of to do at the moment in such short amount of time. I think the gaurds should be more cautious and better prepared for such events. Also I think there should have been more than 50 guards due to the large amount of loose inmates in the yard.
putting in rival gang members in one locked up stressfull enviroment with tensions flaring this is very likely to happen every now and then. luckily no guard was injured in the riot but i feel that they handle well as stated that nobody was killed which is a plus. Also the sytem did a good job of firing the rubber bullets instead of the real actual shots but i think the prision did a good job of handling the situation
For this incident i feel as though the officers did what was necessary of them. I know this is harsh to say but do prisoners who start that big of a riot really deserve to be more less babied and not even given the options of having chemical agents dispersed? obviously that did nothing so the officers had to take charge and begin to get violent with them. It was the only way to stop the riot. Unfortunately the inmates did end up getting hurt but the officers did try to give them a chance to stop without it getting to this extreme matter. They also had to look out for the other hundreds on inmates they had in their prison. so as sad as it is to hear that 5 got shot and 2 injured, its not really anybodys fault. they should of stop when given the chance or just not have started it at al.
I agree with what another student said about just letting smaller amounts of prisoners come out in groups. This would not raise the issue of not having enough money in the budget to hire more officers. This way the officers we already have would have better control. In public schools today teachers are only allowed to have a certain number of students in their classroom for purpose of being able to focus on who is there, so I think prisons should take the same approach. While I do feel as if the guards had tried what they could to break up the fight, I feel as if the shooting into a crowd of 200 prisoners is not very productive. They aren’t shooting at one specific target or the root of the problem it almost isn’t worth wounding the random people in there. The random people aren’t innocent themselves but they probably aren’t the people we want to be shooting at. But as long as prisons are overcrowded and under-funded there isn’t a lot we can do to improve this problem of riots.
This whole situation should have been handled in a better manner. Whenever there is a riot whether it is in the streets or in a prison there is no structure or order, there is only complete ciaos. Firing gunshots in a crowd during a riot is not going to help; it’s only going to make it worse. It’s adding fuel to the fire. This prison needs to develop a procedure to handle situations like this when they occur. To have that many prisoners together in one area, in the same place at the same time, is bound to cause some trouble. You hope nothing will happen but you know something will eventually. Hopefully the prison guards will increase in their knowledge on prison riots so they can prevent them before they happen.
I think prisons should come up with a better plan to handle prison riots. Everyone knows that eventually a riot will break out in a prison because when incarerated for a long period of time those individuals start to get frustrated with their different situations. I think it is a shame that so many people get wounded when situations like prison riots happen. Especially if those individuals were innocent by standers. They should have prison guards to take mandatory classes that will give them the proper knowledge that they need in an event such as a prison riot. This will not only probably decrease the number of riots that happen but also help them to be more prepared.
Prisons are similar to melting pots. In this melting pot you have different types of criminals, gangs and cultures all rolled in to one. When the melting pot finally boils it explodes, or in this case a Riot. Riots tend to occur when a prison is short staffed and is overcrowded. In a perfect prison module, we wouldnt have these problems, but unfurtunatly our prison module is far from perfect. Riots will occur in prisons, the only question is when. Guards can sometimes detect when a riot is about to occur when certain types of behavior are displayed from inmates. By recognizing this behavior, they can put the flame out before the fire occurs.
What I find funny is that they still cannot find something that will close the gap in hatred towards each other. They have so much in common. They hate the police, they probably had a crappy child hood, and they probably came from a broken home, and so on. So why hate each other so much. Not much has changed and no matter if there were twenty inmates they would do the same thing. I have come to the conclusion that they will never change. They wonder why people treat them like animals. The guards are outnumbered and luckily they were not attacked but having more officers is not the solution. The solution is how we can get fewer inmates. That is the problem!
All facilities are equipted with power locks and staff are equipted with protection gears? Why couldnt they have just released some gas or mase on these inmates during the riot, while staff is geared up, face cover and all? Riots will break out, staff will have to retaliate, and injuries, sometimes deaths will accure. It's life and we live by it and move forward with it. If these officials were to stand down and not retaliate, are they the ones that are suppose to put up a fight and take the beating? I've worked in a jail facility for four years and have seen some fights break out and alot of times, these prisoners aren't going anywhere and the way the officers act is just a sign of who has the more power, but alot of cases it's not because of that. It's because they are defending themselves and keeping in line/mind who is the criminal and who is the official. The state of California needs to keep in mind all the crimes and criminals they are taking in and build or faciliate more buildings to utilize so that there wont be another riot break out and criminals are out numbering the staff that's on duty. There are some things that I agree with and stand by the law and this happens to be one.
5000+ inmates 600+ gaurds, that doesnt seem to be a good ratio to have. there need to be more gaurds, or less inmates allowed out at the same time, to make more managable numbers for the gaurds. what needs to be figured out is what is causing the riots? is it just male ego, to many in one small area? or is there an underlining issue like gangs, or other disagreements? that is what you need to figure out before the riots an be stoped. or here is a simple idea don't allow the inmates out of their cells in groups, if they cant listen keep them in their cells, to eat, and for everything except visitors. I mean this is a punishment right?? so why do they get play time? I believe that if prisons are going to work then they need to be a punishment, like they used to be, when there were chain gangs, and prisoners had to work and earn their priveldges.
The prison guards did as the had to to control the population... First by using less that lethal means which in this case didn't work. The attempt was made in two different means first with gas and again with rubber bullet's. If the population of a prison finds it necessary to not adhere to the rules then they need to be punished. Riots in prisons should not be tolerated whatsoever. It's fortunate that there were only a few wounded in the shots taken by the tower guards. All though the prisoners may think this to be barbaric treatment they should reflect on the way they acted as well. They should of thought of the consequences when they committed to a life of crime.
The idea of shooting into a riot seems logical in what sense? How would guards think shooting at inmates that are rioting helpful in any way shape or form? Yes, using force might be necessary to solving some problem but I don’t think that is one of them. Although the other approaches didn’t work this is why people of this job should have more than a few plans than just shooting inmates. How does shooting people solve the problem of violence? So use violence to solve the problem of violence is the main message here? Using the fact that there are not enough guards to cover all inmates and as previous blogs have said, the ratio of inmates to guards is uneven and in the inmates favor. With our economy now, you’d think people would be jumping for joy at this opportunity to get a job. There are always going to be jobs for people working in the criminal justice field such as this. Also, the guards are shooting at inmates to stop a riot. When the prison guards send the news to those inmates families that they were shot by a guard because they were defending themselves from other inmates, those families just might be extremely angry, either that or the prisoner came from an awful family that won’t care and might just sew only for the benefits.
The opening quote, "Prison guards shot into a crowd to stop 200 rioting inmates" is a snapshot of what is wrong with America's criminal justice system. The guards were obviously poorly trained and their pay probably isn't too good either. On the streets, police would never shoot randomly into a rioting crowd. The American public would be justifiably outraged. Prisoners on the other hand, are thought of and treated as if they are not much better than animals. If you treat men like animals, it is no surprise that they begin to act like animals. New arrivals are basically thrown into cages and left to fend for themselves. And then after serving maybe 25 years, without any rehabilitation, are released into the general population to wreak havoc. Prison is a battle for the survival of the fittest, and that is part of the problem. Most of these men will have no future when they get out and they know it. They will be branded with the label of being ex-cons, have no marketable job skills to help them survive, and end up right back in the system.
Many Americans want a tough on crime approach and cry three strikes and you’re out. Well you have to put your money where your mouth is and house prisoners under humane conditions. Most of them are going to eventually get out anyway, and if changes are not made, we will all have to pay a greater price. Folsom State Prison is just such an example.
Corrections officers are undermanned with ratio to inmates.Prisons are just powder kegs ready for someone to strike a match.As previous comments have said, the officers do the best they can with what they have tto work with. As an individual one would seem to try to ration problems out but when you are pushed to protect yourself you will use lethal means as these guard did. You hear about police officers using lethal force, but what would you do in a split second if you were in their shoes and someone was coming at you to do bodily harm?
I know that there are way more prisoners versus correction officers in prison but shouldn't these correction officers be prepared? The warden should have had training for all correctional officers working in the prison just in case a riot would break out. I do not think that the appropriate training would be to randomly shoot into the riot with a blind eye. No one should be told hey just shoot at the crowd and it should be okay. I am glad to know that the correction officers were armed which they should have been. I know that there are many risks at working in a prison and that there will be riots and deaths because of those riots but there should also be a game plan if things were to go down. It is understandable that even if there are game plans set into motion that you never know how you are going to react in a certain situation until you are put into it!
I am a firm believer that violence is not the appropriate response to violence. The best way to stop riots is to change the culture inside the prison system. Prisons and prison guards need to transform their current methods of aggression and intimidation into a more nurturing and caring environment, otherwise this vicious cycle will continue. To break the cycle of prisons being "hotels" for convicts, we must give them more rehabilitation programs to provide them with opportunities to rise out of their impoverished and abusive subculture. England has taken certain measures to rehabilitate their inmates. For example, one of the ways that they care for and nurture their inmates is by having "tea time" everyday. This provides them with a relaxing atmosphere, in which convicts may flourish and grow. A relatively cheap and easy program that we could introduce in our prison systems that would provide inmates with constructive activities is introducing yoga. Yoga will help calm prisoners and provide them a tranquil atmosphere that would also allow physical exercise and social opportunities. Regardless of what programs are introduced, something must be done to break the culture of violence that convicts are a part of, or else will continue to be bankrupt by our prison systems and release recidivist criminals.
I don’t know if the story was supposed to make me feel sorry for the inmates because it didn’t. No one died. People are soon to forget that they are in prison for a reason. Yes I fully understand that they are human and have rights but done be susceptible to being in a riot and that complain when you get injured. Obviously tactics had to be used to settle the scene. If one doesn’t work than try, try again. There are always going to be troublemakers and with trouble makers comes, of course, trouble. There is no perfection solution because there will always be someone against any solution and they will make trouble for the cause. Violence is not the answer but what other choice did the guards have? Just stay out of and let it continue, um no.
Well after calculating prisoners vs. staff, I came up with 5.5 prisoners per guard (that's if they were talking about 643 guards as their staff). Needless to say, more staff would be a logical answer, but I know California is having a hard time with the economic situation just like we all are.
ReplyDeleteWithout hiring more staff, I would say the answer would be smaller groups of prisoners being allowed leisure time, etc. until staff can manage more at a time. I know it sucks being locked in a small room for long periods of time, but, in the long run, it's for the prisoners safety as well as the staff.
I think this could have been avoided and handled in a more humane way. I just cannot believe that shooting live ammo into a riot is a best practice for anyone. I agree with using force when needed after-all these are dangerous people. I agree with Leanne in regards to maybe hiring more guards to balance out the ratios, but the real question is why there are so many inmates in the first place? If we could take the funds out of corrections and put it toward prevention would that yield us a better outcome? What other opportunities have been provided and offered to these men? Our current method is clearly not working. I think that shooting at them only solidifies their survival mentality and we have shown then nothing different. My experience with rubber bullets is that they are pretty effective in stopping undesired behavior. Maybe the prisons could increase their gang intelligence in the prison to know when things like this are going to go down.
ReplyDeletecjmeeke
ReplyDeleteI am just not sure what people expect officers to do when inmates defy authorities. Shooting into the crowd will only alienate the prisoners and in return make future situations harder to control. I wonder if that was the only way to stop the men associated with the riot. I think the prisoners might want re think the act of rioting now that this has happened. It is hard to image the stress that those officers are under being in a violate situations. I would tend to agree with the idea of hiring more officers so that the ratio is balanced. It sounds to me like the officers did everything possible. What was the protocol in regards to this matter and was it meet. If Johnny Cash was still alive he could do another concert and remove all the tension. This is a bigger problem and until California politicians can work together and solve their financial issues problems like these are going to happen
When a group of individuals of different backgrounds, ideas, and cultures are in an overcrowded situation the likelihood of disturbances grow based on the space and the number of people which are shoved into this space. Then throw in the mix, a mental issue or an emotional issue, and the scene is primed for chaos. The correctional officers have a tough job when the guard to inmate ratio is minimal at best. However the lock down is a situation of the prisoners own making. Bad behavior results in consequences that force time for thought and preferably repentance. The kids get “Time Out”. Until there are some improvements in the overcrowded prisons, are you surprised?
ReplyDeleteThe article states, and I quote, "We tried to control the situation with chemical agents dispersed over the crowd..." What kind of chemical agents do they use?? I agree that they should probably hire more workers...but with it being Folsom, who knows how many more they can hire under the conditions.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article, I feel that the prison guards reacted appropriately. They first used two non-lethal means to gain control of the riot with no positive effect. When the chemical agents and rubber bullets didn’t stop the fighting, live fire did. The fighting needed to be stopped as quickly as possible before inmates were maimed and beaten to death by other inmates. The positive outcome is that no inmate lost his life and the guards were not injured.
ReplyDeleteThe article states that the prison has experienced quite a bit of fighting between its inmates lately. If this violence is possibly and probably the result of the different gangs in the prison trying to establish dominance, then I second the recommendation of CMS8876 by increasing their gang intelligence at the prison. I don’t mean to seem crude and barbaric, but now I think that the inmates might realize after this incident that when the last rubber bullet is fired in an attempt to break up a riot, that lead bullets could soon follow. This could be a deterrent in itself.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Rita, that when you have a diversified group of individuals in a small confined area, that emotions and tempers are bound to flare. I don’t pretend to know an answer, but for the amount of money that is spent on the prison system, there are bound to be some type of improvements that could be made to encourage prisoners to become socially acceptable beings. Instead they seem to learn how to become “worse” criminals, learning new evil traits. I don’t blame the jailers for their reactions because how else could you react to a bunch of wild behavior except back with extreme behavior. I personally would not want to spend 8 hours a day working in such a stressful and depressing job .Even though I don’t expect prison to be a country club, it should still be a humane area. As bad a place that I would suspect that prison is, it doesn’t seem to be a deterrent to crime. It could be due to media hype, being glamorized or because it has become such a common fixture in our lives, the fear of prison is decreasing. Even though corrections are just one part of the justice system, it is the last stop on the justice system chain, and it could be the weakest link.
ReplyDeleteIts very simple...when you cage people like they are animals, they will eventially fight like animals. It is the "fight or flight" syndrome. In this case, there is no option to "flight" so only one choice remains and these prisoners live in fear for their lives 24 hours a day. This is sad and an issue we prefer not to think about..."out of sight, out of mind". I do believe we need some system for law and order that will ensure safety for law abiding citizens, but I'm not sure we're going about it by locking up prisoners with others like them. When you put a mentally unstable person in a cage with another one. Someone is bound to be affected badly. There is no room to rehabilitate at this point. Many may break the law and still be able to be guided in a better direction. However, as soon as you throw them to the wolves...its all over and almost impossible to reverse the affects. Since I cannot change this system, in this situation, I would only be able to suggest that prisoners not be allowed to be in such large groups at the same time. They should also not be mixed in any way with rivals. The threat of outbreaks such as this would surely decrease when not presented with a threat.
ReplyDeleteMost people would look at the inmates that got shot but not me i look at the peple who shot them and what they stand for and what they do for us here on the outside world. When you take a job as a gaurd in a hight risk jail you have to watch out for not only your self but the other that work along side of you and te people you are there to watch over. These inmates een sent here because they can not control them selfves on the outside. You may look at me bad but those gards may have just save a live that could of been damages when these inmates have gotten out. I have no pitty on them I see that were doing what we had ask for them when the job was given to them. I leave my safety in there hand. never in my life could i take a job that would risk me and my family and i feel lucky that someone has step up and done this for me
ReplyDeleteIf you can't hang with the big dogs, stay on the porch. If you don't want to be treated like a criminal, then don't act like one.
ReplyDeleteIs there an answer? NO. Or at least there is no one right answer. Everyday the guards have to work as if they might be faced with a riot that they may or may not be able to handle.
If the guards would not have stopped the riot when they did, then who knows how many individuals would have been injured or even killed.
The fact that they tried to get their attention in a more humane way...says a lot.
I agree with many, that there needs to be more prison employment of guards, although I still also agree with the fact that if their is a need to use force in order to control a population of criminals, then DO IT! These riots are apparently not getting any better and unless the guards do something about it, it will continue to rise and become even more of a problem.
Do whatever you have to do to get those being jailed to still fear the prison system (agreeing with jpokluda) and it not be a place where they can have fights at the expense of the guards.
I think that Jessica brings up a very good point. These are criminals who more than likely disserve to be in a medium security penitentiary with MAYBE the exception of a handful of prisoners. Regardless, I believe that those who say something more "humane" should have been done.. well there is only so much that can be done before the prisoners wind up killing each other or the facility staff. There were less harming tactics used before the officers were forced to use more penetrating efforts. No one was killed, someone could have been, these are all factors to also be taken into consideration. Although it may be a bold statement to make, I do not feel any pity for those prisoners who were injured by the shots of the police officers. These prisoners are all aware of the possible outcomes when it comes to violating prison rules or acting out. While it is possible that not all the individuals could have avoided becoming a part of the riot that took place, who's to say that a hundred out of the two hundred did not have to get involved. Maybe if it had only been one hundred prisoners rioting the more "humane" efforts would have been effective. I think the officers actions are completely justifiable, they not only stopped the riot within thirty minutes but also no one was critically injured.
ReplyDeleteI am not trying to sound funny or be silly. Why not create human like robots and allow them to shock, taised, maneuver and strong arm prisoners in riot situation. Of course, I know it might be a high price to pay for such equipment but it will differently protect a guard from getting injured in a riot break out incident. It is easy for us to sit here and say the use of force should be minimal but not knowing the mental,physical, and psychological state of some of these prisoners can make a difference between life and death. These prisoners are skilled and have mastered all kins of ways to administered harm up to death of a person in the simple use of equipment in their presence. I am for the use of deadly force if it is justifiable and enforcement of rules against anyone found guilty of wrongful acts including guards.
ReplyDeleteThis riot seems to make me think, these inmates fought for that long even after they used chemicals to get them to cease. Either these inmates were really fighting as with gang related influences, or they were planning something. It is amazing what people will do, especially inmates, usually all they want is to get out and maybe that was their plan. Possibly they could have wanted to be injured just to be out of prison for a moment. Even though they obviously were not “free” they were still out of the prison atmosphere. However most likely this might have been a gang related riot because of the amount of inmates that were involved. These inmates do not know anything else but their gang; they eat, sleep, and breathe their gang. So for them getting injured in the process was a normal action. Their gang is what probably what got them in prison but that’s not how they see it. These poor guys do not stand a chance in the real world because they do not have a sense of reality; the gang life is not a normal reality. The life of gang members are what alter the “actual society” that the rest of us live in, but they are in crime in our society. These riots are result from the fights and brawls that they have outside of the prison bars, in society.
ReplyDeleteI think the officers acted appropriately during the riot. No one was killed and there were few injured from an event that could have had a huge number of fatalities or injuries if the officers had not acted the way they did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that yes more staff would maybe...MAYBE..lower the number of riots but the governor is already cutting the education portion of California's budget and I don't think taking even more money from California's education system is the right answer. Other than that it's hard to figure out what could be done to prevent other riots from happening because after all they are criminals and are naturally going to be angry and revolt against authority. I say they should investigate and watch for the leaders of riots and punish them by taking away more and more given rights until they are made an example out of to other prisoners hopefully making them think twice about starting another riot?
The way the situation at prison was handled could have been handled in a different way and more sufficient way. To use live rounds on human beings is outrages especially if there is nowhere for them to go. They could have used different tactics to control the riot. It is surprising nobody was shot and killed. In the article it gives the statistic of inmates to guards and guards are way out numbered and this is why the riot took over thirty min to control. If the prison would hire more guards this situation could have been avoided. Maybe more training on controlling riots should be done in order to control riots in a more sufficient way and quicker way. I believe this riot could have been caused due to gangs and gang related dispute. Maybe if the different gangs are separated this situation could have been avoided also. They also could have used different weapons in order to control the riot. The prison has experienced a lot of violence over the past 130 years so this could taken into consideration in order to get more control over the prison. The prison did a poor job at controlling the riot maybe in future accuracies they will be better trained to handle the situation.
ReplyDeleteOk so they say they have been around for about 130 years. Wouldnt they by now have a better more sufficient way of taking care of this situation. Sure they have had riots before. I agree with Cordell, we should have some type of robot that can go in and taise or shock. I understand how the entire nation is going a bad enconomic situation. But what about all those private sectors California has?.. Having more staff would be very helpful. Staff that has special training. Many people who are not at fault are being killed in those riots. California's politicans need to get it together and come up with a reasonable solution to this problem. Well wait, MORE STAFF WOULD BE THE FIRST STEP!
ReplyDeleteIn every prison, there are certin guidlines that the officers has to follow, in this issue they was just trying to protect the other people that was around. Once the fist step in the procedure is followed then I belive that it is nessary to do what they have to do to protect them selves and others. No I know that it's not fare to other to have to loose there vists, or daily acitivties, however you have to remember that you have to have some type of control in the system. I think they should go back and get other type of weapons to use is issue of this matter.
ReplyDeleteI could comment on how the guards could have taken less severe measures and could have dealt with the riot in a more reasonable manner. However, the issue comes down to over-crowding in prisons, therefore creating an environment where it is difficult to maintain order if such situations develop. The decision to fire live rounds at the inmates by the guards was clearly a last resort during a situation that was out of control of the outnumbered guards. This is not to sound like I'm defending the actions of the guard who were clearly wrong to do so. However, the environment created due to prison overcrowding means these situations are more likely to occur. When they do, it is hard to carry out reasoned, logical decisions, especially when so outnumbered and when several other methods have failed. This reaction by the the guards was the fault of the prison system and not of the guards themselves. As a result, relationships between the guards and inmates are likely to be severally tainted and trust broken, creating the possibility for a repeat incident to be directed at the guards themselves. Such problems can be addressed by concentrating the amount of inmates in each prison facility (by building more facilities or dealing with crime at face value), or take on more guards to deal with the vast amount of inmates in each facility. However, with economic resources already spread as far as they can in correction facilities, and the ever sporadic increases in criminal activity, the ideal solution to help deal with such situations as that at Folsom prison is becoming more uncertain. Something has to happen to help prevent such extreme measures having to be taken by prison guards.
ReplyDeleteRiots are going to happen, there is no way to control every single inmate. These people are in prison for a reason, alot of them for violent reasons. with all the prisoners, fights and maybe even riots will happen. when stoping these riots force has to be used. firing weapons is a last resort but if it has to be done then i guess it has to be done. i wouldnt consider it brutality, if shots were not fired more inmates could have been injured. if the riot contiued long enough inmates could have been killed by other inmates. not every inmate will agree with other inmates so arguments and fights will happen. one thing does lead to another and a simple fight could spark into a riot. another reason the shots could have been fired was to protect the gaurds.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't Johnny Cash just go record there again and make all the inmates peaceful...I see no problems with this theory, such as that worked the first time and Johnny Cash is still alive and well. Right? Enough with my ridiculousness now, but in prisons riots unfortunately are going to happen. Guards must do their best to prevent it, but with approximately 1 guard to every 5.5 prisoners makes things weighted in favor of the prisoner. Gentile is on record as saying that other methods to suppress the fighting were attempted first, before they resorted to perhaps shooting fish in the barrel. Unfortunately in prison situations this is unavoidable at times, though things have gotten better as societies have grown and technology has advanced. The occasional outbreak is still predictable however. I think the more intriguing question is not the cause of this outbreak, but rather is it the apple that spoils the barrel or the barrel (or situation in life that the prisoners are put in) that spoils the apples?
ReplyDeleteOk, my first thought after reading this article was why in the Sam Hill would they open fire on a bunch of inmates just because they wouldn’t stop fighting? That opens the door of a million other reasons behind what’s wrong with our prison staff and our criminal justice system. They could’ve kept going with be rubber bullets and eventually those criminals would’ve stopped all the rioting and noise making that they were carrying on.
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have half of the problems that occur these days in our prison systems if they would sit down and come up with a plan to hire way more better qualified prison guards. The ratio of guards to prisoners is outrageously imbalanced and if we keep up with these madness, it wont be long before the prisoners to take them out one by one. As they realize that its more of them (prisoners) than it is guards. Then a good chunk of our federal system will be looking liking straight clowns for not hiking up the number of guards against those goons we call prisoners. LOL
This is what happens in prisons you know, especially medium and low security prison systems because of the liberties that the inmates have. In this particular case where the inmates outnumber the off officers and trained staff more than two times it is not unusual for inmates to start riots because their learned behavior; they know that they can overpower the guards. Case and point no officers were hurt in this riot but collectively there seven injured inmates. The article mentioned that they didn’t open fire until other measures were taken. Such as, chemical agents and rubber bullets which were not affective. The punishment for the inmates because of the riot was lock down which could last for a number of weeks. Locking people down without any privileges including no visits will only bring the animal out more. However the inmates have to learn that this kind of behavior in not acceptable. The repercussions will demonstrate to the inmates and to outside criminals that lock down will happen and being locked up and locked down can happen. Just another reason why people should not go to jail, avoid being treated like caged animals, no rights and no options.
ReplyDeleteIf i'm correct, Folsom State Prison is a maximum security prison. I believe the guards weren't in the wrong for doing what they did. They first used gas which didn't work, next came rubber bullets which had no effect, so the last option was to fire real bullets that resulted in wounding five people. In Tookie Williams book Life in Prison, I remember him talking about the different means of force used by guards within the prison if a fight or riot were to break out. Rubber bullet guns that was nicknamed the Hammer and gas canisters were used in both prisons. In result, no one was killed and all those who suffered injury will be fine. The guards did what needed to be done to prevent further incidents.
ReplyDeleteThings like this are bound to happen at any jail/prison. There is always room for improvement to help keep people safe. I think that the guards should be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on to help prevent such things from occuring. As far as the guards opening up fire into a crowd of 200 I think we can have a better plan put into place for future riots. I dont think it was the best thing to fire into a large crowd like this, but since they had already tried different methods previous to this, it was probably the only thing left that they could think of to do at the moment in such short amount of time. I think the gaurds should be more cautious and better prepared for such events. Also I think there should have been more than 50 guards due to the large amount of loose inmates in the yard.
ReplyDeleteputting in rival gang members in one locked up stressfull enviroment with tensions flaring this is very likely to happen every now and then. luckily no guard was injured in the riot but i feel that they handle well as stated that nobody was killed which is a plus. Also the sytem did a good job of firing the rubber bullets instead of the real actual shots but i think the prision did a good job of handling the situation
ReplyDeleteFor this incident i feel as though the officers did what was necessary of them. I know this is harsh to say but do prisoners who start that big of a riot really deserve to be more less babied and not even given the options of having chemical agents dispersed? obviously that did nothing so the officers had to take charge and begin to get violent with them. It was the only way to stop the riot. Unfortunately the inmates did end up getting hurt but the officers did try to give them a chance to stop without it getting to this extreme matter. They also had to look out for the other hundreds on inmates they had in their prison. so as sad as it is to hear that 5 got shot and 2 injured, its not really anybodys fault. they should of stop when given the chance or just not have started it at al.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what another student said about just letting smaller amounts of prisoners come out in groups. This would not raise the issue of not having enough money in the budget to hire more officers. This way the officers we already have would have better control. In public schools today teachers are only allowed to have a certain number of students in their classroom for purpose of being able to focus on who is there, so I think prisons should take the same approach. While I do feel as if the guards had tried what they could to break up the fight, I feel as if the shooting into a crowd of 200 prisoners is not very productive. They aren’t shooting at one specific target or the root of the problem it almost isn’t worth wounding the random people in there. The random people aren’t innocent themselves but they probably aren’t the people we want to be shooting at. But as long as prisons are overcrowded and under-funded there isn’t a lot we can do to improve this problem of riots.
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation should have been handled in a better manner. Whenever there is a riot whether it is in the streets or in a prison there is no structure or order, there is only complete ciaos. Firing gunshots in a crowd during a riot is not going to help; it’s only going to make it worse. It’s adding fuel to the fire. This prison needs to develop a procedure to handle situations like this when they occur. To have that many prisoners together in one area, in the same place at the same time, is bound to cause some trouble. You hope nothing will happen but you know something will eventually. Hopefully the prison guards will increase in their knowledge on prison riots so they can prevent them before they happen.
ReplyDeleteI think prisons should come up with a better plan to handle prison riots. Everyone knows that eventually a riot will break out in a prison because when incarerated for a long period of time those individuals start to get frustrated with their different situations. I think it is a shame that so many people get wounded when situations like prison riots happen. Especially if those individuals were innocent by standers. They should have prison guards to take mandatory classes that will give them the proper knowledge that they need in an event such as a prison riot. This will not only probably decrease the number of riots that happen but also help them to be more prepared.
ReplyDeletePrisons are similar to melting pots. In this melting pot you have different types of criminals, gangs and cultures all rolled in to one. When the melting pot finally boils it explodes, or in this case a Riot. Riots tend to occur when a prison is short staffed and is overcrowded. In a perfect prison module, we wouldnt have these problems, but unfurtunatly our prison module is far from perfect. Riots will occur in prisons, the only question is when. Guards can sometimes detect when a riot is about to occur when certain types of behavior are displayed from inmates. By recognizing this behavior, they can put the flame out before the fire occurs.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find funny is that they still cannot find something that will close the gap in hatred towards each other. They have so much in common. They hate the police, they probably had a crappy child hood, and they probably came from a broken home, and so on. So why hate each other so much. Not much has changed and no matter if there were twenty inmates they would do the same thing. I have come to the conclusion that they will never change. They wonder why people treat them like animals. The guards are outnumbered and luckily they were not attacked but having more officers is not the solution. The solution is how we can get fewer inmates. That is the problem!
ReplyDeleteAll facilities are equipted with power locks and staff are equipted with protection gears? Why couldnt they have just released some gas or mase on these inmates during the riot, while staff is geared up, face cover and all? Riots will break out, staff will have to retaliate, and injuries, sometimes deaths will accure. It's life and we live by it and move forward with it. If these officials were to stand down and not retaliate, are they the ones that are suppose to put up a fight and take the beating? I've worked in a jail facility for four years and have seen some fights break out and alot of times, these prisoners aren't going anywhere and the way the officers act is just a sign of who has the more power, but alot of cases it's not because of that. It's because they are defending themselves and keeping in line/mind who is the criminal and who is the official. The state of California needs to keep in mind all the crimes and criminals they are taking in and build or faciliate more buildings to utilize so that there wont be another riot break out and criminals are out numbering the staff that's on duty. There are some things that I agree with and stand by the law and this happens to be one.
ReplyDelete5000+ inmates 600+ gaurds, that doesnt seem to be a good ratio to have. there need to be more gaurds, or less inmates allowed out at the same time, to make more managable numbers for the gaurds. what needs to be figured out is what is causing the riots? is it just male ego, to many in one small area? or is there an underlining issue like gangs, or other disagreements? that is what you need to figure out before the riots an be stoped. or here is a simple idea don't allow the inmates out of their cells in groups, if they cant listen keep them in their cells, to eat, and for everything except visitors. I mean this is a punishment right?? so why do they get play time? I believe that if prisons are going to work then they need to be a punishment, like they used to be, when there were chain gangs, and prisoners had to work and earn their priveldges.
ReplyDeleteThe prison guards did as the had to to control the population... First by using less that lethal means which in this case didn't work. The attempt was made in two different means first with gas and again with rubber bullet's. If the population of a prison finds it necessary to not adhere to the rules then they need to be punished. Riots in prisons should not be tolerated whatsoever. It's fortunate that there were only a few wounded in the shots taken by the tower guards. All though the prisoners may think this to be barbaric treatment they should reflect on the way they acted as well. They should of thought of the consequences when they committed to a life of crime.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of shooting into a riot seems logical in what sense? How would guards think shooting at inmates that are rioting helpful in any way shape or form? Yes, using force might be necessary to solving some problem but I don’t think that is one of them. Although the other approaches didn’t work this is why people of this job should have more than a few plans than just shooting inmates. How does shooting people solve the problem of violence? So use violence to solve the problem of violence is the main message here? Using the fact that there are not enough guards to cover all inmates and as previous blogs have said, the ratio of inmates to guards is uneven and in the inmates favor. With our economy now, you’d think people would be jumping for joy at this opportunity to get a job. There are always going to be jobs for people working in the criminal justice field such as this.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the guards are shooting at inmates to stop a riot. When the prison guards send the news to those inmates families that they were shot by a guard because they were defending themselves from other inmates, those families just might be extremely angry, either that or the prisoner came from an awful family that won’t care and might just sew only for the benefits.
The opening quote, "Prison guards shot into a crowd to stop 200 rioting inmates" is a snapshot of what is wrong with America's criminal justice system. The guards were obviously poorly trained and their pay probably isn't too good either. On the streets, police would never shoot randomly into a rioting crowd. The American public would be justifiably outraged. Prisoners on the other hand, are thought of and treated as if they are not much better than animals. If you treat men like animals, it is no surprise that they begin to act like animals. New arrivals are basically thrown into cages and left to fend for themselves. And then after serving maybe 25 years, without any rehabilitation, are released into the general population to wreak havoc. Prison is a battle for the survival of the fittest, and that is part of the problem. Most of these men will have no future when they get out and they know it. They will be branded with the label of being ex-cons, have no marketable job skills to help them survive, and end up right back in the system.
ReplyDeleteMany Americans want a tough on crime approach and cry three strikes and you’re out. Well you have to put your money where your mouth is and house prisoners under humane conditions. Most of them are going to eventually get out anyway, and if changes are not made, we will all have to pay a greater price. Folsom State Prison is just such an example.
Corrections officers are undermanned with ratio to inmates.Prisons are just powder kegs ready for someone to strike a match.As previous comments have said, the officers do the best they can with what they have tto work with. As an individual one would seem to try to ration problems out but when you are pushed to protect yourself you will use lethal means as these guard did. You hear about police officers using lethal force, but what would you do in a split second if you were in their shoes and someone was coming at you to do bodily harm?
ReplyDeleteI know that there are way more prisoners versus correction officers in prison but shouldn't these correction officers be prepared? The warden should have had training for all correctional officers working in the prison just in case a riot would break out. I do not think that the appropriate training would be to randomly shoot into the riot with a blind eye. No one should be told hey just shoot at the crowd and it should be okay. I am glad to know that the correction officers were armed which they should have been. I know that there are many risks at working in a prison and that there will be riots and deaths because of those riots but there should also be a game plan if things were to go down. It is understandable that even if there are game plans set into motion that you never know how you are going to react in a certain situation until you are put into it!
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer that violence is not the appropriate response to violence. The best way to stop riots is to change the culture inside the prison system. Prisons and prison guards need to transform their current methods of aggression and intimidation into a more nurturing and caring environment, otherwise this vicious cycle will continue. To break the cycle of prisons being "hotels" for convicts, we must give them more rehabilitation programs to provide them with opportunities to rise out of their impoverished and abusive subculture. England has taken certain measures to rehabilitate their inmates. For example, one of the ways that they care for and nurture their inmates is by having "tea time" everyday. This provides them with a relaxing atmosphere, in which convicts may flourish and grow. A relatively cheap and easy program that we could introduce in our prison systems that would provide inmates with constructive activities is introducing yoga. Yoga will help calm prisoners and provide them a tranquil atmosphere that would also allow physical exercise and social opportunities. Regardless of what programs are introduced, something must be done to break the culture of violence that convicts are a part of, or else will continue to be bankrupt by our prison systems and release recidivist criminals.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if the story was supposed to make me feel sorry for the inmates because it didn’t. No one died. People are soon to forget that they are in prison for a reason. Yes I fully understand that they are human and have rights but done be susceptible to being in a riot and that complain when you get injured. Obviously tactics had to be used to settle the scene. If one doesn’t work than try, try again. There are always going to be troublemakers and with trouble makers comes, of course, trouble. There is no perfection solution because there will always be someone against any solution and they will make trouble for the cause. Violence is not the answer but what other choice did the guards have? Just stay out of and let it continue, um no.
ReplyDelete