Violence is one of the biggest factors that has promulgated today's culture in prison, and due to no solution being provided, violence has become a necessity in many inmates' minds. To survive, one must embrace the violence to ensure that one is not grossly affected by it. What goes up must come down.
To be, or not to be. Truly, this is the question in every inmate's mind as they walk into a prison riddled with the reputation of violence. To be, or not to be...a victim in the confines of this new world. They are left with defending themselves as the prison staff turns a blind eye to the Wild-Wild West conditions that plague our prisons today.
Staff and administrations that either out of not care (complicates their workday by having to do extra paperwork), or care about the wrong thing as they cover up such violence to escape liability and to keep their positions (if the truth were told, then their incompetence would demand their replacement).
The stories of violence are endless. The psychological effect that living under such uncivilized norms can be so damaging that quick movements bring subconscious reactions of defending oneself... or someone walking up behind you can have you subconsciously whipping around ready to strike.
We take a case that has an inmate killing his roommate, then wearing his ears around his neck. Where do we find such insane happenings? War zones use to be the only place we found these types of things. This is what is being built by our system and then released back out to us.
How does one not become a victim in a lawless world detached from any real accountability to protect those within it? How does one not become violent in a world that almost demands it? The Compound Interest Effect of violence begets violence. It breeds what it is made to breed, and if we as a civil society do not demand better from those in charge of a world that will one day re-enter our world, then who is to blame.
In Florida, there is a complex maze of sentencing schemes that make restructuring the present system a tedious task that ensures an all-encompassing strategy for reform. Admittedly, there is difficulty and challenges in making effective reforms that benefit the public and the over-sentenced inmate respectively.
In general, the effects of drugs are at the center of almost every sad story, but in the world of prison, they can give a defining end to those stories. Being incarcerated presents the perfect isolation to impact those in society who for many diverse reasons have turned to the numbing effects of drugs and alcohol.
When one thinks about the system that is best equipped in releasing an offender back into society, one would be hard-pressed to find a better one than an effective parole system. An effective parole system gives the best chance to gauge if the offender is ready or not to be released.