{"id":619,"date":"2008-07-24T17:52:36","date_gmt":"2008-07-24T23:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/?p=619"},"modified":"2008-07-24T17:52:36","modified_gmt":"2008-07-24T23:52:36","slug":"19600000-and-probably-well-spent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/2008\/07\/24\/19600000-and-probably-well-spent\/","title":{"rendered":"$19,600,000 &#8212; and probably well-spent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226589688693581746\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/bp3.blogger.com\/_0JuSECuIrUI\/SIiToVVM57I\/AAAAAAAABlo\/NrcrVEEZRSo\/s200\/stillwater2..bmp\" border=\"0\" \/>just about every prison has a <em>hole, <\/em>a <em>box, <\/em>or a <em><span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_0\">seg<\/span> unit. <\/em>these are thought to deter inmates from disruptive behavior, incapacitate those dangerous to themselves or others, and, sometimes, to protect inmates who might be especially vulnerable. if a prison is a microcosm of society, the <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_1\">seg<\/span> unit is therefore the prison&#8217;s prison.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_2\">minnesota&#8217;s<\/span> ancient correctional facility in <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_3\">stillwater<\/span> just built a new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.startribune.com\/local\/east\/25490449.html?location_refer=$urlTrackSectionName\">$19,600,000 segregation unit<\/a> to house the institution&#8217;s most disruptive residents. such costs strike those on the left as an outrageous expenditure in dehumanization, while striking those on the right as an outrageous expenditure in mollycoddling. having visited this facility and other century-old units on several occasions, however, i agree with prison administration on the need for such a facility. if you think the new <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_4\">seg<\/span> unit is dehumanizing, you <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_5\">should&#8217;ve<\/span> seen the old one &#8212; violent, frighteningly loud, with fires, floods, and flying feces a constant threat to staff and inmates. <\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>during visits, i thought it unimaginable that people could spend any length of time in such conditions and still be expected to function as productive citizens upon their release. one hopes that the colder but safer space in the new unit may ultimately play some role in reentry and reintegration. a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kare11.com\/news\/news_article.aspx?storyid=518793&amp;catid=2\"><span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_6\">kare<\/span>-11 report<\/a> (with a bit of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kare11.com\/video\/player.aspx?aid=77220\">video<\/a> from the old <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_7\">seg<\/span> unit) quotes <span class=\"blsp-spelling-error\" id=\"SPELLING_ERROR_8\">stillwater&#8217;s<\/span> warden on this point:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:85%\">&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t designed for being more comfortable, but designed as being more humane,&#8221; Warden John King explained. &#8220;That&#8217;s an important thing, to treat offenders humanely because they&#8217;re going to be back on the streets and in our communities,&#8221; he added.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>just about every prison has a hole, a box, or a seg unit. these are thought to deter inmates from disruptive behavior, incapacitate those dangerous to themselves or others, and, sometimes, to protect inmates who might be especially vulnerable. if a prison is a microcosm of society, the seg unit is therefore the prison&#8217;s prison. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[461,156],"class_list":["post-619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-human-rights","tag-prisons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/pubcrim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}