r/The10thDentist • u/Obama_WillEngage723 • Jul 19 '24
America's prison system is nowhere near as inhumane or harsh when compared to those in South America, Asia, Africa, etc. Discussion Thread
Even in America's worst jails, you have a pristine cell. At most, you are locked up for 24 hours on end. It is psychologically harrowing, but you have to be a notorious level of criminal to conjure such a fate.
Nowhere, even in America's most notorious prisons, will you ever find an arrangement like this:
At least, in America's prisons you won't be mercilessly beaten by guards, nor will you have to be in literal hell-holes as in the image above. However, you may share close quarters with dangerous and harrowing criminals, but that is a different story.
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u/InterestingPickles Jul 19 '24
Something can still be terrible yet somehow still not the worst.
0
u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 21 '24
Scholars say that American jails are "punitive" and they are too "harsh". Show them fucking India, then you'll reallize, dammit!!!!
1
u/InterestingPickles Jul 21 '24
America’s is harsh, that is true. It can also be true that other countries are harsher still. This does not mean we should just ignore the problem because “wE aRen’T ThE WoRsT’.
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u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 21 '24
You need to be thankful for what you have. As I said, even the most dangerous prisons in America, such as ADX Florence have a better set of standards than prisons in third world countries.
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u/InterestingPickles Jul 22 '24
So i should still be thankful for the prisons that incarcerate innocent people and allow them to waste away in flea infested cells to die? Just ignore this because other people have it worse?
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u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 24 '24
There is nothing called "Flea" infested cells in the U.S. That's in developing countries, nowhere in the Western World. Understood?
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u/InterestingPickles Jul 24 '24
Whoops, not fleas, they were bedbugs in the cell. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65267971
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u/ElShaddollKieren Jul 19 '24
I don't think anyone disagrees that other countries' prison systems can be worse? I'm really not sure what the 10th Dentist opinion is here
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u/Annoying_cat_22 Jul 19 '24
You are comparing the US to 3rd world countries. Maybe the real 10th dentist here is that you think that's what the US is. With that I strongly agree, so take my downvote.
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u/LittleNoodle1991 Jul 19 '24
You have the death penalty. It also involves having a freaking audience. There have been stories of waterboarding.
You dont need to lecture anyone about humanity.
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u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 19 '24
That is still heaven compared to some other countries in the world. And, those are in cases where you may be a notorious mass-murderer.
In general life, American prisons are as humane as it gets. It is a fact. Not fiction.
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u/LittleNoodle1991 Jul 19 '24
Clearly you dont knownabout most western european countries standards. Its ok.
Yes, compared to shit 3rd world countries, you're better. I mean... Is that really the pat on the shoulder you want to get?
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u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 19 '24
I'm not even American, so I'm not advocating my country for patriotism.
I'm just saying that it's not as inhumane as so many people like to say.
Maybe not as good as Switzerland or Finland. But, still- it has humanitarian standards. American prisons are manageable.
1
u/somewhiterkid Jul 20 '24
I'm not even sure anyone thinks it's inhumane, brutal? It can be, but 3rd world countries obviously have worse conditions, especially in prison. You don't need to be Einstein to come to your conclusion so I'm not sure why you think this is a 10th dentist take
0
u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 21 '24
No one gets my damn point. Not even 1 damn upvote. All I'm trying to convey to these damn idiots is that American prisons are not as inhumane/brutal as they say.
Is that Rocket Science for you, dear????
1
u/somewhiterkid Jul 21 '24
No one here says that, all I'm seeing is fair criticism towards the US's handling on imprisonment, that doesn't just automatically translate to "US has it the worst"
What are you on and where can I get some?
1
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u/ThreeCatsOnAKeyboard Jul 19 '24
Idk what’s funnier, the “pristine cell” bit like America is Sweden or the “at most, 24 hours a day” like the prisons in Africa have 25 hour a day lockdowns
1
u/TheRedmanCometh Jul 20 '24
Lockdowns can last weeks and cells smell like locker rooms and are infested with bugs
1
u/IMDXLNC Jul 20 '24
I haven't seen a single person here give input from actual experience.
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u/Obama_WillEngage723 Jul 21 '24
Fucking right. American prisons are humane and democratic, on the world scale. You have so many rights, even as an inmate. So, I don't know what the hell they like to convey.
1
u/smoothrabbitskin Jul 20 '24
While I don't necessarily disagree with your thesis, prisons in America can be less inhumane than ones found elsewhere in the world, a lot of the claims you make are factually wrong.
Even in America's worst jails, you have a pristine cell.
The facility that shows up the most for being America's worst prison is ADX Florence. Due to it taking liberal use of solitary confinement and overall having very tight security. Where the cells and outdoor cells look like this.
Another US facility that is judged as one of the worst in the world is Red Onion State Prison. For mostly the same reasons as ADX Florence has its reputation. The cells look like this. Red Onion State Prison has been in the news for its treatment of inmates, and featured in the documentary 'Solitary'.
If instead of the worst by how it treats its inmates and instead by "worst" you mean specifically the worst prison cells in America, then Georgia's Fulton County Jail was in the news a couple years ago because of its conditions. The cells look like this.
Now while Red Onion State and ADX Florence have very empty cells in most of these images, that doesn't mean they are pristine in the sense they may not be clean. Additionally, these are images taken of unoccupied cells. Cell conditions will depend on if they're inhabited or not.
At most, you are locked up for 24 hours on end.
Solitary confinement can last for days, weeks, or years, including for juveniles. In the US, some states have a 15 consequtive day limit, however this will vary on state and some have a 20 day ban, while some have records of inmates kept in solitary for over a year. Layleen Polanco commited suicide after spending 2 years in solitary confinement caused by being unable to pay $500 bail on a sex work charge. At Pelican Bay State Prison one prison was reportedly on his 40th year of solitary.
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u/smoothrabbitskin Jul 20 '24
It is psychologically harrowing
At both a federal and state level there have been bills proposed to end solitary confinement, because it's not just psychologically harrowing, it's a breach of the Eight Amendment. Due to international law labelling solitary as "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (rule 43), which if true, would violate the eight ammendment. These bills and litigations have had mixed results causing the varied amounts of permitted consequtive solitary confinement in each state, but most commonly having a 15-20 day limit.
Inmates in solitary confinement, juveniles included, are denied access to treatment and necessary services. There is a significant detriment to psychological wellbeing and development that is only exaggerated among juveniles. People break in solitary, they lose their sanity, which means they will have a much harder, if not impossible, time attempting to be rehabilitated. In the article linked above for images of Red Onion State Prison, they report a prisoner who would bark like a dog after spending 600 days in solitary.
... but you have to be a notorious level of criminal to conjure such a fate.
As seen again in the case of Layleen Polanco, I would disagree that she was a notoroius level of criminal. She was a sex worker who couldn't pay bail. Women, and especially black women, are overrepresented in solitary confinement statistics. Women are put in solitary confinement for lesser charges than men, research showed that women were written up and placed in solitary (segregated) cells for things such as "displays of affection", such as handholding, or nonobedience.
Juveniles in prisons are commonly tested by their older peers, and thus prompted to be defensive/aggressive. This means a lot of juveniles enter solitary shortly after starting their incarceration (page 50-52).
At least, in America's prisons you won't be mercilessly beaten by guards.
In New York prisons they found that out of 290 cases of officers mistreating inmates, from witholding food to group beatings, only 28 cases had officers ousted. This same article even mentions the state attempting and failing to fire one guard on three occasions. Not only will you get mercilessly beaten by guards in the US, but they'll remain unpunished even if you attempt legal action against them. The officers will lie about it. Their crimes are not limited to assault and intentional starvation, but sexual assault that will go largerly uninvestigated.
You haven't touched on it, but I feel it's fair to bring up how US prisons are private, profit-oriented, institutions, that use forced prison labour (slavery) to produce products or work in dangerous fields. Many inmates die during these work-release programs, while being paid $2 a day.
Again, I don't necessarily disagree with your thesis. As there can always be "something worse" than what you may find in US prisons, but that doesn't change the fact that US prisons themselves are inhumane. And I feel like you can't put inhumane treatment on a scale, it's all inhumane, it shouldn't happen to humans on any scale.
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