Inmates are on Facebook.
(pause)
I gave you a moment there to just let that sink in, because in this country we are so accustomed to being harsh and punitive that it’s difficult to imagine inmates doing anything normal. A lot of people don’t even want prisoners to have access to something as benign as television, much less Facebook.
Without a doubt, inmate activity on social networking sites is something to be aware of, and even concerned about. But I don’t think it’s something to panic about. I don’t even think these activities should be outright banned. Don’t worry, there is a comment feature at the bottom of this post if you’d like to tell me how wrong I am. At least consider reading the rest of the post first?
As much as it’s difficult to support inmate rights, I think there are two critical issues here. The first is free speech. I know, I don’t want to hear a lot of what they have to say either. But without free speech, inmates lose their ability to advocate for reforms in the correctional system and to bring abuses to light. Although the recent decision to overturn a Louisiana statute banning sex offenders from social media was focused on post-release offenders, much of the reasoning is similar.
The second issue is offender well-being. (Ouch! I heard that! No yelling in my ear!) Offenders, inmates, convicts – criminals by any other name – are still human beings. As a society, we do have a basic commitment of equality, fairness, and humane treatment for all human beings. Even those who have caused grievous harms.
Most of those offenders who are locked up will one day leave their institutions. The more we are cruel to them, the more we refuse them access to the most basic features of our society, the more we impede their ability to connect in positive ways with other human beings, the more we put ourselves at greater risk. The prisoner who has lost the ability to fit into society is also the prisoner who will reoffend, causing more victimization, more destruction, more hurt.
And if you are there thinking, “Oh yeah? What about the those inmates who are never getting out? Or on death row?” Yes, I think they should have social media too. If you can’t get behind the other reasons I’ve already given in terms of free speech and offender well-being, how about this one: correctional officer well-being. Happier inmates are less violent in prison. They are less likely to riot, less likely to attack their keepers.
Now, I’m not saying that inmates should have unfettered access, or that there shouldn’t be some reasonable restrictions and monitoring, much like we currently do with snail mail communications. I’m just saying, I don’t think we should make it a crime. We can stop the panic, and reasonably think through how to do it safely so that we don’t endanger victims, whether past or potential. We can figure out the role that social media can play in the conflicting goals of punishment and rehabilitation. We can be sensible.
I’m not panicking.
bitcodavid
May 10, 2012
Your first paragraph says it all. We’re so harsh and punitive in this country. Due to – among other things – our draconian and inane “war on drugs,” many inmates are not and never were violent offenders. Many others who are in prison are actually – dare I say the word – innocent. But OK. Let’s say a guy (who wasn’t a CEO of a major Wall Street bank) actually did the horrible things he’s accused of. He’s a pedophile, a murderer, a rapist and a gang banger, and that’s all before breakfast. The question remains, how much of his incarceration serves the purpose of protecting us? How much is devoted to attempting to rehabilitate him, and how much is just plain old revenge?
If you answered predominantly in the latter, then we should bring back such treasured institutions as public flogging, the Rack, the Wheel… etc.
American prisons may not be the worst on Earth – that’s a subject up for debate – but there’s little doubt that they qualify as vicious, hellish places. Many inmates would rather be dead than in prison. I have letters to prove it.
Can’t we work to make this life of grinding anguish, just a soupçon more bearable?
Julie
May 12, 2012
This is an interesting way to look at it. You make good points, but I do believe that inmates’ access to the “world” would best be limited to non-social media while incarcerated, while simultaneously expanding their training, educational and expressive opportunities through other channels. They are there to ideally rehabilitate, not kill time. I understand that a certain percentage of inmates are innocent and “light” offenders, but I believe that everyone could be best served in the short-term and the long-run if prison life were dedicated to optimizing one’s character and skills development. I believe the same for those of us who are not within the prison system. Regardless of whether we are behind bars or not, I believe it is prudent for us to strive to develop. Providing opportunities for character development and a hunger for knowledge and wisdom could be our best investments all around. Providing prisoners with weight lifting equipment and liberal access to television and social media may not be our best investments. Wise replacements could be hard work, technical work, learning to workout just using one’s body, books, writing materials, literacy programs, and violence-curbing and violence-prevention programs, as well as instruction and training with true self care in every way. While some people would rather die than be imprisoned, there are others who, once out, commit crimes on purpose to get back in to the security of the world they just got freed from. On the line of social media, once someone is nearing the end of their stay, I think that it would be useful to educate them on social media and other technology, including orienting them on sources of free access, like computers in public libraries. Complex and fascinating issues worth serious thought.