Teaching prisoners to dive...

[H2Andy]

Atually, I'm told, they used Marines. The reason, according the the Principal Investigator was that eliminated the need to go before the human subjects committee. (True story, but I think the P.I. was pulling my leg)<G>

damn, that's a dark joke...

funny, though

 

[H2Andy]

Maybe Bubba should have spent time learning to fish before he decided to steal the fish that did not belong to him.

i agree... once you screw up once, you have no right to any further breaks

maybe we should just execute all the prisoners. would save tax dollars!

 

[Thalassamania]

damn, that's a dark joke...

funny, though

Ain't it though?

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

On a serious note, I saw no info on whether those companies in need of commercial divers have any role in this program. Maybe they should be footing part of the tab. This type of program only makes sense if there is some guarantee of employment after incarceration. If industry isn't on board with this training, it will fail.

 

[plot]

i agree... once you screw up once, you have no right to any further breaks

maybe we should just execute all the prisoners. would save tax dollars!

And it's been proven that the reciditivism rate of executed prisoners is non existant.

 

[H2Andy]

And it's been proven that the reciditivism rate of executed prisoners is non existant.

damn... good point

i take credit for it!

 

[RV]

And it's been proven that the reciditivism rate of executed prisoners is non existant.

roflmao

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

Will he pay higher taxes in order to pay back his training? I doubt it very much.

Maybe Bubba should have spent time learning to fish before he decided to steal the fish that did not belong to him.

I think you should understand that a significant percentage of persons in jail are not there for any sort of theft or violent offense. In fact in Texas just under 60% of all people in jail or on probation are there for a non-violent offense.

Here's an example of just how easily this can happen. Lets say you end up losing your job and because of this you can't afford to renew your drivers license. So now you are driving on an expired license and you get pulled over for a headlight that is out. In Texas you have just committed a class A misdemeanor (one step down from a felony) and will be fined between $100 and $500 plus will have to serve a minimum of 3 days in jail and possibly up to 6 months. This doesn't even include lawyer costs, court costs, and the DPS administrative fees which can easily add up to thousands of dollars. What is worse is with that class A on your record finding suitable employment may be very difficult. Even worse is if you get on probation and you can't afford to pay off these fines your probation will be revoked and you will be sent to jail for that 6 months.

It is a horribly vicious cycle started by politicians who want to appear to be tough on crime and end up piling the fines on these "criminals" to help fund their special project of the moment. We need to stop trying to fine to death those who commit petty offenses and start working on the real criminals. Unfortunately anyone trying to correct this situation and help people get out of this cycle is seen as being soft on crime and if they are a politician they would be committing political suicide.

Personally I think training someone with a skill that allows them to be a productive member of society will cost less than letting them keep coming back into the revolving door we call our criminal justice system. I am all in favor of getting people out of jail where they cost tax payers money and back into society where they contribute in the form of taxes. It costs (in Texas) $22,000 to house a single inmate for a year. So even if it cost $10,000 to train someone if we managed to keep them from coming back for a single 6 month period it would save money, plus whatever money they end up contributing from taxes.

I'm all for it.

 

[sbrooks]

If they can come out of prison with a job - I'm all for it.. BUT they should consider those "good" people who have never gone to prison who don't have a job - or those who do have a job making $5/hr sweeping floors and the local fast food joint. Lets remember their contributions to society, be it positive or negative.
S.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

We need to stop trying to fine to death those who commit petty offenses and start working on the real criminals..

I agree with you to a point that many times, people are too busy crying over spilled milk to actually clean it up. The point of prison is to make a person decide not to commit a crime again, and to leave them with the skills they need to know how to avoid it. But, I believe if you look at history you will find out about some mayor in a large city, maybe NY city? Actually, he might have been police chief. Anyways, whomever he was, he cracked down on crime and had officers start arresting people for petty offenses, like public urination. And what they found was that the violent crime rate dropped dramatically. The people that pissed in front of town hall were the same people that dealt in narcotics and shot people.

So please realize that we can't get rid of the bigger crimes until we eradicate smaller crimes. The goal of law is to keep people from breaking it, by letting them know that there are huge reprecusions to breaking it. The driver in Texas knows that driving without a renewed license, something that only costs, what, $20? will cost him a few thousand. Atleast he should. It is cheaper to replace the license. $20 is four meals at Mcdonalds. He decided he'd rather spend the money at Mcdonalds. It all comes down to personal choice. He could spend his money on whatever, and if he doesn't have enough he is living beyond his means. The thing that environmentalists complain about is the world living "beyond it's means," we are using up natural resources too fast. Same thing, this guy is living beyond his means. Funny thing is, the same people that complain that becuase I drive something bigger thana shoebox are the same people that complain about me putting the guy who chose to live beyond his means in jail when he commits a crime, even though that thinking exposes a dangerous double standard.

However, I realize we are all human so I'm very much for second and even third chances. I do think that if you are sentenced to the death penalty then you should get 30 days to appeal, and after one appeal attempt you should be killed before another 30 days is up.

Oh, and I'll probably forget to read this thread again, becuase I'm quite tired and I won't remember writing this tomorrow. just so you all know.