Prisoner Rights

[peacetraveler22]

Criminal psychology is a fascinating area of study, at least to me. This week, news spread that 79 year old Charles Manson filed for a marriage certificate to marry "Star," a 25 year old woman from Illinois. She was only 16 when she first discovered Manson on the Internet and immediately became attracted to his environmental philosophy, at least that's the story she tells the press. They speak almost every day on the phone, and she's permitted to visit him on weekends. However, conjugal visits are prohibited, so technically sex is not permissible unless they find creative ways to engage in the act without security guards noticing. Entirely possible! People are always finding clever ways to engage in sex in public places or under tight scrutiny.

I started thinking recently about what rights the most evil and heinous prisoners like Manson should have. Should he be allowed to marry? Have sexual visits with his soon to be wife? Some American prisoners have access to TVs, Internet and books on occasion. The most notorious of killers receive thousands of emails from women interested in pursuing romantic relationships with them. What makes a woman attracted to such a person? I can't understand it, maybe there are some psychologists amongst my readers who can explain? As you can see, Manson's soon to be wife is not some ugly duckling. She's quite attractive and well spoken, yet drawn to a prisoner who committed some of the most horrific murders in American history. Future husband with a swastika tattooed on his forehead? Apparently it's attractive to at least one person. You can hear her explain the relationship in this interview.

I know nothing about the Russian prison system, or how inmates are treated there. What rights do you think prisoners should have? Internet, TV, books, privacy for sexual relations if they're married or have a girlfriend? I'm torn on this subject, not sure how I feel...

Comments

[pin-gwin.livejournal.com]

This is a bit misleading photo. Watching this lady live interviews may change your opinion about her appearance. Anyway, an attraction of bad guys is well known phenomenon. There is nothing rational in love, and the men, who manage to understand women, should be immediately imprisoned. It's a crime!!!

[creaze.livejournal.com]

Whatever the conditions their held in, the most crucial right of a prisoner is a hope for salvation, to be released and given the chance for an ordinary life.

[rider3099.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that such women are out of their mind

[pro100-petrov.livejournal.com]

The main right for them is not to be humiliated, killed and wounded,

[floamaldita.livejournal.com]

I tried but still don't understand this young girl..
Is this true love? :)

[maadmike.livejournal.com]

It is really an interesting theme. I thought myself about it not once. I think it is the duality of the human's mind produced such strange world as a prison. I think it is not right to hold in one territory the killers and people who did a crime by a coincidence. It is terrible thing to do and I am totally against it. I think, that should be prisons for people who can be given a second chance for returning to a society and the prison for people who will never see a freedom. The people which I doubt, deserve to live at all, and I think you Americans are right that don’t cancel a death penalty like EU and we Russians did.
So, for the prisoners who will return to a normal life, I think, it’s possible and good to have a relationships, when they are in the prison, in my point of view.
We in Russia have the several types of prisons as I know it, the prisons for people from all kind of police forces, for people who did not so much crime and for inveterate criminals.

[seadevil001.livejournal.com]

I think if they executed him and his merry band in due time now we would not discuss this issue. Really, what kind of purpose keeping him alive serve?

[south-of-broad.livejournal.com]

Honestly, she doesn't look all that adequate to me. There is something very troubled about her. I cannot say what exactly concerns me in her, but my intuition tells me something is really wrong with this girl. Poor parents.

[pasha1980.livejournal.com]

You live in a humanistic, homocentric society where the emphasis is on reforming criminals rather then on punishing them, and on giving them the tools they can subsequently use to become integrated into the fabric of society. In Russia, criminals are sent to places that are very much like concentration camps. By international standards, they are subjected to torture and abuse every single day of their sentences.

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

Recently I read of a case in Israel.
The assassin of the Israeli Premier got life.
Then a couple of Israeli journalists (she - a Russian) got permit to interview the convict and make a documentary.
In the course of the interview, the woman fell in love with the felon, divorced her husband, married the inmate and got permission to beget a baby.
Now she is fighting to release the mofa for the child care as parent.

And you are saying Manson ... I am really grieving Sharon Tate.

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

For me, the moral paragon is my wife. But women, as you know, are paradoxical.

Occasionally, hearing the news I say that Russia should be dusted with DDT. (I am not that bloodthirsty as to suggest Napalm). My wife protests - the Russians are still humans! And I have to accept this.

On the other hand, once after a heavy rain a cricket got in our living quarters. It was so annoying. Finally I caught the beast. The wife told me to throw him away. This I refused. I relocated the cricket to the basement. In my understanding of the principles of life - a home without a cricket is not home!

So, I released the cricket in the basement. Yet, on the next night, he moved up into the kitchen and started to screech there - not that far from the bedroom! I spent a couple of hours hunting the creature using my head like a 1930s airplane locator. And now finally-finally I got him and this time threw away in the cold backyard.

When I am wrong about women, I usually say Mussolini ha sempre ragione (you know what happened to that predecessor of Putin).
Thus, now I do not think about the DDT and only hope on God's action similar to Sodom and Gomorrah.

[k-netalie.livejournal.com]

i believe when you take someone's life, you'll lose some of your rights. there can't be a common answer for all the prisoners. it depends of course on the crime itself. if to talk about such criminals as Charles manson whatever right he was given in the prison, they shouldn't allow him to be dabgerous for other people. he's done enough, i think.

[skvorets1989.livejournal.com]

I started thinking recently about what rights the most evil and heinous prisoners like Manson should have.

Not being tortured during his death, that's all. I don't understand it and never will why should a murderer live while his victims are dead? What if something happens and he runs away and murders somebody else? In Russia murderers and pedophiles very often get only 5-10 years of imprisonment.

Actually you don't want to know about our system of justice. It is a total mess. Absolute madness.

[burfoerste.livejournal.com]

Judging by the interview that girl don't seems to be smart.

[real-marsel.livejournal.com]

She is crazy.

[rollson.livejournal.com]

I think prisoners must read russian Livejournal 24 hrs per day.
And we will win crime

[ilfn.livejournal.com]

In firstly I saw this problem on the part of the prisoner. I'm not, not in jail (spat from prison and from scrip not promise). I sat twice in the guardhouse in the Soviet army. Не знаю, как перевести "гауптвахта". Что нашел.-))) And it was bad. Spoke with the soldiers who carried a sentence in a penal battalion. Too bad it was. And secondly now look the part of an honest citizen. I stole a car once. Then robbed the apartment. I was very angry. Why should I have to pay for their accommodation and their own taxes? Not talking about the internet and television. Yes, it is bad. But you knew that commit crimes. And receive Responsibility. All honest. Even if you accidentally knocked on the car man. Anyway, you're guilty. Not loosen and the death penalty. In the US there is the death penalty.

offtopic: humor

[creaze.livejournal.com]

Hey, i was wondering here....

Do Americans make fun of neighboring nations? Of themselves?




If not, why is that? Because they are just boring people or too shy? Or because they're afraid, some sorry ass fun-killer is going to find himself 'offended' and sue the hell out of them?

It really struck me when i was living in America, that almost all people at all times tried to stay on the polite side. To choose their words carefully and kinda 'control' their emotions. But when you talk with them in private they dont make the impression of having an odd sense of humor or anything.

Why is that?

Cause among all european nations its totaly ok to make fun of each other, Russia no exception. Even that: most of national humor is about mocking some neighbors features, so you won't get it unless you spend several years living in that country.

[anna-sollanna.livejournal.com]

I once read an article about the reasons why Russian woman likes prisoners. There was stated that because of their (prisoners') masculinity. Because they exercise their musculs, because they look and behave much manly than men out of prison. And what these men find attractive in women out of prison is obvious...

[mb-b.livejournal.com]

“What makes a woman attracted to such a person? I can't understand it, maybe there are some psychologists amongst my readers who can explain?”

That’s a rhetorical question, just google the topic and you’ll find plenty of information. (I just found a fancy word in Wikipedia: Hybristophilia.) Anyway. Most of us here (people with Russian/Soviet background) were raised as atheists (at least nominally) and so we subscribe to Darwinism by default. (Maybe not the case for someone with nice American/Christian upbringing.) So from our viewpoint the matter is simple and has to do not so much with psychology as with ethology and reproductive strategy.

(Am I assuming too much speaking for others?)

[phd-paul-lector.livejournal.com]

They say that now the situation in prisons and labour camps became much better (and no, today a labour camp is not what it used to be in Stalin's era). Luckily, I never been imprisoned (knock on wood!) but my remote relative used to work at a labour camp as a workshop head master until recently, and he tells about improvements, including food, and certain liberalization of the general regime. Also, most prisons were reconstructed, and most prisoners have rather decent conditions

[otmorozen myz (from livejournal.com)]

You can watch movie "the mark of cain" if you want to know more about russian prisons. Its filmed in 90s, but unfortunately it actual today too.