UN rapporteur on torture ‘scared to find out more about our democracies’ after delving into Assange case [rt.com]
I don't regard RT as a credible source, however, the way UK prisoners are treated can be regarded as a form of torture, especially where 2-3 inmates share a 6 foot by 8 foot cell, sometimes with only a bucket for a toilet.
Prisoners can find themselves being locked up for up to 23 hours a day, sometimes 24 hours, with little by way of entertainment. They may have earned the privilege to watch a small black and white portable tv, for which privilege they pay £1 per week, or a proportion of that in a shared cell.
Often they are bullied into working a 6 hour day, where they may get to earn £10 to £30, dependig on the work, which amounts to slave labour. The work is menial and the monotony of either situation can cause mental health problems in prisoners of an average or above IQ because they have absolutely nothing to stimulate them.
The purpose of a prison sentence is to punish and to rehabilitate prisoners, the punishment being the loss of their liberty. Most prisoners accept this. What they do not accept is the the degrading environment, which is added to by the pettiness of some staff.
It is degrading for prisoners to be forced to eat meals in their cells with a toilet so close by. It is degrading that unlike women prisoners, male ones have to wear uniforms and underwear that have been worn hundreds of times by others, with some underwear still bearing stains.
It is degrading that wardens can threaten inmates with a loss of privileges for growing a beard, or growing their hair long. It is degrading for an intelligent inmate to be forced to do menial work for only pennies, or have to sit for 23 hours a day with nothing to do.
It is no surprise that there is a crisis over the mental health of inmates and soaring suicide rates. Leaving prison without any form of rehabilitation to face a still hostile society unwilling to give them a chance to work, it is little wonder that recidivism rates are so high. Can society be surprised if some ex-inmates seek revenge against the for being complicit in allowing such conditions to exist?
Prison is a deterrent for many, but it only acts as one once. After that, familiarity with the system weakens that deterrent effect. It is becoming easier to imprison people, and prevention and prohibition orders added to prison sentences provide a situation of double jeopardy, and people can find themselves imprisoned for an act, or omission, that would not normally attract a prison sentence.
The fact that imprisonment rates a climbing inexorably upwards only serves to show that the current system of law and order is failing individuals and society. Sometimes it seems that the judiciary is more interested in sustaining their own jobs by allowing a revolving door policy to continue, rather than seeking a solution to a prison system is both inhumane and failing.
Have you read the following article which identifies a reduction in detected crime around the world
I do not disagree with you that the inhumane incidents reported by you are wrong.
@FrayedBear I've scanned through it. The operative word is 'reported'. In the UK many crimes are not even reported to the police because it is known that they won't bother to investigate it. I once tried to report a case of criminal damage, to be told that it was a civil matter, and not of concern to the police. Having been a former police officer, I quoted the relevant Act, but the operator refused to accept it. It was a similar case when I tried to report a theft.
Official police figures in the UK do not reflect the true crime level, and clear up rates for crimes are terrible. In many cases, the police cannot give accurate figures because some crimes can be recorded in a number of different ways, and it is for the individual policeman to decide which category a crime should be recorded under
Looking at some of the countries, coercion and bribery operates routinely in many of the highest scoring countries and corrupt judges can be bought.
The British police forces weren't happy when one government drastically cut their budgets, saying that the 'drop' in crime meant that fewer officers were needed. It was hard for the police forces to respond to that, after all they could hardly admit to fiddling the figures; something that could see the pepetrator losing their job, and possibly their liberty.
@Magister tell me about it! I've just had rachmanism from my landlord, a church organisation, send me into lockdown since last September. Legal advise told me that the police treat it as a civil matter. They couldn't have done more damage if they had hit me with an ironbar.
An enqury into the law has seen me make several submissions. The last stated that revealing criminal wrong doing would result in prosecution of the perpetrator . All I've had is silence since December.
4 years ago police, complainant & main witness perjury resulted in a magistrate making orders against me. The female complainant 18 months later made further statement identifying that everything that I had said was true.
I was then found to be in contempt of court for having publicly revealed the truth. The perjurors were never prosecuted.
@FrayedBear I've sat in court cases, where the most bizarre of judgments were made. In one case, a man admitted assault, the jury was shown video footage of the assault, the police gave evidence after arriving on the scene in minutes, and three eye-witnesses gave evidence.
The judge had the court cleared, annnounced that he didn't regard the witnesses were credible - I suspect that he either didn't like the look of them, or maybe they had criminal records - the jury were called back and directed to find the man not guilty. This was despite the admission and other evidence.
That was only one of many. It became obvious that the judicial system was a complete farce. Getting justice was as likely as getting the police to investigate a crime. They seem to pick and choose what they will investigate.
If only people knew.
!Hell No!
Do they give a brass razoo?
@FrayedBear hell no
@FrayedBear I had to look that one up
@William_Mary 100 yo. Australian. Lol. Rarely heard now.
Posted by William_MaryA symptom of perception management. The program was completed when the vast amount of the American citizenship became compliant to the delivery of MSM information. [consortiumnews.com]
Posted by William_MaryIt rarely never fails.
Posted by William_MaryIf You Wish Someone a Happy Memorial Day, You Fail to Understand Its True Meaning The mythology perpetuated at Memorial Day benefits no one save the militarists and war profiteers.
Posted by LufahyuMedia Sources; people from all walks and ideologies peruse a variety of source material available on the Internet, some more reliable than others.
Posted by joy2loveThe Neuroscience of Illusion - Scientific American
Posted by CherokeemanBlessings y'all.
Posted by Archeus_LoreA good meme for religious people to see . . . .
Posted by William_MaryIt has been questioned if Einstein actually made this statement.
Posted by William_Mary“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.
Posted by William_MaryHowever we have an escape-------[wsws.org]
Posted by William_MaryKeep people from their history, and they are easily controlled.
Posted by William_MaryThis fairly explains our political woes within our citizenry when it comes to the voting process that's managed within only 2 parties with their perceptions managed by propaganda designed to support ...
Posted by William_MaryI can pretty much apply this thought to just about everyone who has attempted to challenge my agenda here in this group, and my comments on social media in regards to our political arena.
Posted by William_MaryBy Apr.
Posted by William_MaryThe working class holds the strength to change the world for a better society for everyone. We just need to refuse to remain indoctrinated into their manufactured delusional reality.
Posted by William_MaryWhen the state is controlled by corporations and the ruling class.