Two weeks after taking office, Governor Matt Blunt has banned all video games from state prisons as of Monday.
The ban appears to be in response to a newspaper story which raised concerns that violent inmates were being allowed to play games simulating various crimes including carjacking, murder, and killing police.
In a statement Gov Blunt said "Our penitentiaries are punitive institutions where those who have committed crimes against society are sent to pay for their actions. They are not meant to be arcades."
As a society we should not pay, what is it $15,000 a year to keep some one in prison just so they can play Grand Theft Auto (Yes there is a GTA on GB) or other games. They should be making license plates at student wages. Or reading books on how to get a job and keep it.
why should prisoners even be allowed to play any game in the first place? I mean come on, they get to watch tv, play games, go on computer, weight lifting.. ect. All that from tax money which they don't deserve it.
Our justice system is supposed to a) punish the guilty for the crime(s) they have committed against society, and b) to reform them. That's why they are called "Correctional Facilities." The idea is that while incarcerated those individuals will make a personal change and not reoffend. If it was a lack of education, that they will become eduacated, if it was a lack of employment, to teach them a skill etc. And as far as murderers go, teach them the value of human life. As a society we are supposed to hold our freedom in high regard, that's why we incarcerate people because we HOPE that they too value their freedom and when it is taken away they will realize their fault. And while they are reforming themselves, yes they can also do the junk jobs like making license plates, cleaning high ways etc. while making federal federal minimum wage, with taxes, a small percentage with held to defer the costs of incarceration, and another small percentage with held for social programs. If they want to play basket ball, or go outside, or work out or whatever, they should earn those privelages, but they do not need video games or televisions for that matter. They can stay informed by reading a newspaper that they buy with their own money from the prison store or whatever. Blunt is right, prisons are not arcades.
I have heard that is tedious stuff. Like in Final Fantacy (What ever) grab an Item that you can offer to some one and offer it to all 1000 characters in the game to make sure it doesn't freeze that game cold. Then there is bordering the game, that is where you go to the edge of the game levels and out line them to make sure you don't walk off screen. This is the kind of stuff game testers get paid to do. This is borring ass stuff. Oddly, many video game testers play games while on break or off duty. Games they want to play.
Make prison a place where people DONT want to go. Make it so boring and so lonely that they have either two choices, read and become a better person, or rot and die mentally. The smarter of the criminals will choose the former and be released in due time with a different look at the world. Perhaps they will then realize how great the liberties they have actually are.
No weights, period. If they want to exercise they can do push-ups, etc. Its disturbing how some people go into prison and come out looking like a body builder who is probably going to commit more crimes and possibly kill someone.
Prisons for violent criminals needs to be solitary confinement in a 6x10 cell with a solid door, bolted down cot, a toilet and a hole in the door to slide in food, books and newspapers. End of story. Prison needs to be a deterrent, not a bump in the road.
I agree with what you are saying in general but at the same time we do need to reeducate the ones who will be released back into society. We can't expect them to reintegrate without help.
What official allowed video games in there in the first place? What the hell?
Let them play physical sports such as basketball so they don't languish physically, let them read books and go to counseling, etc... to improve their souls.
But do not let them play video-games. Geez. morons.
however, it may be a bit confusing to all the drug offenders in the jail being ordered what games they can and cant play buy a man with the last name as BLUNT how do you take that seriously how bout jim joint or mary jane... i think this is stupid, what is more important would maybe be getting drugs out of prisons before video games, it pisses me off because all this stuff just distracts from real issues...
I guess I’m going to be slammed as a bleeding heart liberal (again).
To answer this question we need to know what kind of prison we are dealing with. Remember first that America likes to incarcerate its people for the most asinine of reasons, possession of pot, drinking beer when aged 20, being black etc.
America has the highest prison populations of the western world per capita. Their re-offend rates are abysmal. But despite that the hang ‘em flog ‘em brigade is still out in force condoning even more punitive measures to make prisons work. Despite all the evidence in so-called liberal countries proving that such measures are not effective.
If the prison in question is a low to medium security prison and the inmates are non-violent drug offenders there is nothing wrong with letting them play video games as a reward for staying off drugs, good behavior, or hard work. Now if we are talking about every cell having a PS2 and a choice of 50 games to play all day long that is probably an overkill. But prison is a bitch no matter how you look at it. Even the softest prisons are still prisons. If video games keep inmates behaving well and avoiding drugs and violence then great.
The fact is we have some serious issues in American prisons. Overcrowding, prisoner abuse, sexual abuse, rape, drugs, corruption, violence and once they get out the re-offend rate. On that list of problems video games is really not what you would call a priority. When all of the real issues have been solved and we have a great criminal justice system, maybe we should be worried about issues such as this. As is so often the case we are paying too much attention to the minor details and nowhere near enough attention to the serious glaring problems that are crying out for attention.
As for Governor Blunt, he is clearly an idiot. He is one of these politicians that believes that simply being elected makes him wise. I’d venture to say that there are some far bigger issues in the state than this one. But as usual for politicians he knows that a move like this will cause a few ‘bad people’ to suffer and at the same time appeal to the gullible non-thinking public who think that this move is actually one that will help lower crime.
that he went too far. Sure, ban the very violent ones but I hardly see how playing theme hospital is going be to their detriment. (perhaps playing theme hospital is a special punishment itself) As some before me have said, jails have bigger problems. Perhaps they could work a bit harder on the rehabilitation of those they're going to release so they don't see them back the week after they're released.
and made a video game, I say he can knock him self out and play it. He learned how to make it. It is constuctive even if it was a violent game. (Space Invaders, violent?) But just him. Not his buddies.
On some level I'm more comfortable with them playing games. Someone with a grudge against society with high level computer skills? Anyone want to guess what comes next?
put them in a cell...make them bored...make them insane?? wow , you are the smartest ever, we can make them worse criminals when they get out....believe it or not...but they dont still enjoy being in jail for years. Everyone gets boring when you are stuck in one place for a very long time. period. you guys act like its luxury... those are the few things we have, but freedom to go and about is something much more. I have no problem with them playing games, even violent ones...because its very obivous this isn't a high security prison...sorry if im wrong. But these aren't people who shoot at cops and kill babies, so stop crying about that already. These people probably are those pot smokers or dealers, so why don't you go bitch at the cops for arresting them for it, its not a serious crime and its always being disputed. And i'd rather have these people have a chance in life ( not being crazy ) when they get out, because when people actually start building up a life and have something to lose when they get somewhere they actually will rethink doing illegal acts. A lot of people in jail had nothing to lose because they had a shitty life, so making it worse and releasing them is counterproductive. BLEH!
Ahem hello - they are in prison to make them suffer and realise the penalty for crimes against society. That means losing anything and everything that would bring 'pleasure' (except that which they get themselves.. usually by making someone their bitch). Its called PUNISHMENT.
They get physical exercise and human contact - they arn't going to go insane because they don't have the pleasures of life! ROFL.. this would only happen in a place with an idiot population... the U S of Asinine A.
Not sure what to make of your post. Maybe you can clarify.
In reality many of these people are misguided teens caught selling pot, or drinking a beer underage. You talk about them with such a lack of compassion as if they were animals. Sadly most of them are going to be released soon. Without rehab, an education, or a real chance to succeed. Unfortunately those that support inhumane and punitive prison terms will find that the prisoners have not in fact been 'scared straight' but now emerge as violent criminals more likely to disrupt and endanger society.
There are two paths we can take as a society. One is locking up everyone even non-violent petty criminals, and give them very harsh prison conditions. Two is we lock up only the more violent and dangerous offenders while putting non-dangerous ones on community service and house arrest.
In option two we do our best to rehabilitate and educate.
The only way option one works is if you never let them out. Because if you do they are going to be worse than when they went in.
These are facts, do the research and see for yourself.
You win! Good post. Cant agree more. The war on drugs is insanely zealous. To say that it creates more problems than it fixes would be a drastic understatement. Its unfortunate that most people dont understand the implications of such a blindly aggressive policy.
@Vswift- Wow. Wipe off the foam coming out of your mouth. Not all Americans are 'evil' as your media of choice would like you to believe. Btw, the ones that are good people dont live in Hollywood (generally).
Hey why stop there? Why don’t we give them each a king-size bed with satin sheets, their own private TV and telephone in an ocean front room? Hell, let’s not stop there. How about some strippers to give them a lap dance while they dine on T-bone steak and baked potato by candlelight? Why not have an open bar also while we’re at it? I work my ass off and criminals have it better than I do. Makes me want to go out and punch out a cop or molest a three-year-old so I too can have a nice cushy vacation at the taxpayer's expense. The U.S. has to be the most screwed up country on Earth. I can see why we have such a high crime rate. Yeah, this kind of treatment would certainly deter someone from committing a crime ((( considerable sarcasm here))).
Why have you not then? You could have a better life than you have now.
You have only listed the +ve things about prisons. Some people do see that as a way of life but unless you are writing this with a stripy sun tan you do not. Nor do most people.
Why not do some research before you trot out this tired old argument. If you really think any prison in the US is even close to what you describe you are living in some kind of dream world.
Prisons are smelly and dirty, filled with smelly same sex low lifes, violence and sexual assault are regular events. You lose your freedom and your rights. Such an experience is horrible by any standards.
Treating prisoners with respect and trying to rehabilitate them is only going to help society when they get out. Treating them like crap will only cause problems later on.
But hey isn't it easier not to think and just trot out the old cliché. Maybe we should bring back chain gangs and flogging prisoners too, 'cos back then there was no crime at all right? But why stop there, Singapore and Thailand like to cane prisoners, many more still like to chop off limbs and magically all crime vanishes. Oh wait, it doesn’t does it, all these countries still have crime despite horrific punishments. So maybe your theory is slightly flawed.
ZCT was right - if all that you want out of you prison system is punitive action you're going to take basicly good people who made a poor choice and turn them into criminals.
Btw. To all those complaining about how easy prisoners get it - have you ever been to prison? The closest I came was visiting a friend in there. I couldn't get out of there quick enough. He told me that in spite of having TV, access to computers, weight gear, etc he was always scared he was going to get beaten up or worse. (see title of my comment) He had absolutely no privacy, no contact with any females, hadn't been more than 100m from his cell in over a year and the guards could make his life hell just because they felt like it.
Makes the TV, the video games, and the steak sound real inviting doesn't it.
I'm afraid a lot of you folks have got your facts a bit scrambled. People don't go to prison for drinking beer underage or smoking pot or carjacking as a teenager. They go to county jail for such petty crimes at best and most county jails are a joke. Anyone who has seen both will call county the "country club". They are not like the television program OZ or like the movies.
Prisons, on the other hand are for severe crimes against society such as murder, rape, grand theft, embezzlement, drug trafficking etc... Usually, the only time you'll see a petty-crime conviction land in prison is when he didn't learn his lesson the previous 5 or 6 times he got a slap on the wrist. (note: I did not say this is ALWAYS the case... just the general rule}
