Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions

hanzomon4 · 07-06-2007

Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions
The Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho - After months alone in his cell, Scot Noble Payne finished 20 pages of letters, describing to loved ones the decrepit conditions of the prison where he was serving time for molesting a child.

Then Payne used a razor blade to slice two 3-inch gashes in his throat. Guards found his body in the cell’s shower, with the water still running.

“Try to comfort my mum too and try to get her to see that I am truly happy again,” he wrote his uncle. “I tell you, it sure beats having water on the floor 24/7, a smelly pillow case, sheets with blood stains on them and a stinky towel that hasn’t been changed since they caught me.”

Payne’s suicide on March 4 came seven months after he was sent to the squalid privately run Texas prison by Idaho authorities trying to ease inmate overcrowding in their own state. His death exposed what had been Idaho’s standard practice for dealing with inmates sent to out-of-state prisons: Out of sight, out of mind.

It also raised questions about a company hired to operate prisons in 15 states, despite reports of abusive guards and terrible sanitation - continued

LordFu · 07-07-2007

We have a higher percentage of our population in prison then any other industrialized nation. It's sad, really. I don't have much sympathy for this guy, but even someone guilty of his crime deserves humane treatment.

I've always thought we should save prison for people who are a physical threat to others, which would still include this guy. Our jails are full of petty thieves, drug addicts, and the mentally ill who would all be better served with treatment and counseling, and who would better serve us through community service and victim reperation rather than rotting in prison.

MRiGnS · 07-07-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordFu

We have a higher percentage of our population in prison then any other industrialized nation.

not only more than industrialised nations, more than any nation.

the comparison to other industrialised nations seems absurd.

some numbers:

usa 725 / 100,000
japan 37 / 100,000
france 80 / 100,000
uk 127/ 100,000

hanzomon4 · 07-07-2007

Humane treatment seems to be rare in a nation that prides itself on tough love and punishment. What this guy went through, and the lady mentioned later in the story, parallels what happens in troubled teen lock ups and places like gitmo. Sad thing is no justice will come for these victims, I've seen case after case like this and the only thing you see is people wringing their hands promising investigations, that lead nowhere, and change, that never comes, as a suitable replacement for true justice. Last time I checked abusing someone was a crime, does this change if the victim is an inmate or troubled teen in some lockup masquerading as a treatment center or "special school"? I ask because rarely do the abusers of this demographic face jail time.

07-06-2007	#1 (permalink)
hanzomon4 Discussion starter Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 78	Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions The Associated Press BOISE, Idaho - After months alone in his cell, Scot Noble Payne finished 20 pages of letters, describing to loved ones the decrepit conditions of the prison where he was serving time for molesting a child. Then Payne used a razor blade to slice two 3-inch gashes in his throat. Guards found his body in the cell’s shower, with the water still running. “Try to comfort my mum too and try to get her to see that I am truly happy again,” he wrote his uncle. “I tell you, it sure beats having water on the floor 24/7, a smelly pillow case, sheets with blood stains on them and a stinky towel that hasn’t been changed since they caught me.” Payne’s suicide on March 4 came seven months after he was sent to the squalid privately run Texas prison by Idaho authorities trying to ease inmate overcrowding in their own state. His death exposed what had been Idaho’s standard practice for dealing with inmates sent to out-of-state prisons: Out of sight, out of mind. It also raised questions about a company hired to operate prisons in 15 states, despite reports of abusive guards and terrible sanitation - continued

07-07-2007	#2 (permalink)
LordFu I see the Fnords. Join Date: May 2007 Location: Columbia, MO Posts: 830	Re: Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions We have a higher percentage of our population in prison then any other industrialized nation. It's sad, really. I don't have much sympathy for this guy, but even someone guilty of his crime deserves humane treatment. I've always thought we should save prison for people who are a physical threat to others, which would still include this guy. Our jails are full of petty thieves, drug addicts, and the mentally ill who would all be better served with treatment and counseling, and who would better serve us through community service and victim reperation rather than rotting in prison.
	For just an instant, have a glimpse, a vision, of life through my eyes. It is a staggeringly joyous perspective, a view of how each person's choices can make their own life better. It is a vision of the possible, of how things can and should be.

07-07-2007	#4 (permalink)
hanzomon4 Discussion starter Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 78	Re: Suicide reveals squalid prison conditions Humane treatment seems to be rare in a nation that prides itself on tough love and punishment. What this guy went through, and the lady mentioned later in the story, parallels what happens in troubled teen lock ups and places like gitmo. Sad thing is no justice will come for these victims, I've seen case after case like this and the only thing you see is people wringing their hands promising investigations, that lead nowhere, and change, that never comes, as a suitable replacement for true justice. Last time I checked abusing someone was a crime, does this change if the victim is an inmate or troubled teen in some lockup masquerading as a treatment center or "special school"? I ask because rarely do the abusers of this demographic face jail time.