I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)
Honestly, I find the US prison system absolutely horrifying in all respects. As satisfying as it may be for victims to feel the person that did something to them is 'gone' they will eventually be let out, and when they do I want them to be ready to integrate with society.<p>Recidivism rates in the US show it is objectively not working, with state prisons leaving inmates to re-offend 76% of the time. [1] In Norway, much derided for their lavish prisons, it's 20%. [2]<p>Throwing people away and treating them like animals is an abject failure, compounded by the mandatory fill rates in private prison contracts. [3] It's time to revisit the whole system, top down, and make it less about punishment and more about making sure it doesn't happen again. And it should be done with data.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-zoukis/report-documents-us-recid_b_9542312.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-zoukis/report-docu...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-norways-prison-system-is-so-successful-2014-12" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinsider.com/why-norways-prison-system-is-...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/jul/31/report-finds-two-thirds-private-prison-contracts-include-lockup-quotas/" rel="nofollow">https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/jul/31/report-find...</a>