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Would Jail be a good option if...

Josh378

Josh378

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,521
This is for America:

Think about it. If you are poor, on the streets and no food or clothes on back, and it's winter time, would staying in jail be an option for you? Granted, you do get a criminal record.

I mean, your covered by the state with your healthcare as well as a bed and food daily. You are given shelter over your head as well. You have time to read books and watch TV from time to time and possibly get a college degree.

What are your thoughts on this?
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,827
It happens but people shouldn't want to go to jail because it's easier to cope with prison than it is outside in the real world. That's more of a recidivism debate, though, and has more to do with just financials. System ain't designed to let you go
 

LexingtonKruger

Banned
Mar 9, 2018
606
My friend told me a story of a guy who would slit his wrists to get hospitalized rather than being homeless. Somehow he would from there always end up in jail.
 
Manmademan

Manmademan

Election Thread Watcher
Member
Aug 6, 2018
15,980
Josh378 said:
This is for America:

Think about it. If you are poor, on the streets and no food or clothes on back, and it's winter time, would staying in jail be an option for you? Granted, you do get a criminal record.

I mean, your covered by the state with your healthcare as well as a bed and food daily. You are given shelter over your head as well. You have time to read books and watch TV from time to time and possibly get a college degree.

What are your thoughts on this?
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Prison/Jail are a whole lot of not fun. For those of you thinking about it, the local jails and prisons routinely had multi-day outages for heating in the winter and AC/Ventilation in the summer- and when you're in jail your movement is heavily restricted. People die from this and it is not rare.
 
BearPawB

BearPawB

I'm a fan of the erotic thriller genre
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,998
People definitely do this.
Steal just so they get locked up to get out of the cold.

I think people are misinterpreting OP.
he isn't saying it is good that society makes this an option.

But it is the society a lot of us live in

www.theguardian.com

A fifth of all homeless people have committed a crime to get off the streets

Survey also finds that 28% of rough-sleeping women have taken an 'unwanted sexual partner' in order to find shelter
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

A 5th of all homeless people have done it



so im not sure why people are getting mad at the OP
 
tr1b0re

tr1b0re

Member
Oct 17, 2018
1,329
Trinidad and Tobago
Maybe if it was one of those fancy Norwegian prisons, otherwise I imagine American jails are a hell in and of themselves so its really moving from the frying pan into the fire
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
I'm sure people already do this sometimes, but US prisons are way shittier than you're making them out to be and so is having a record. You're really describing the absolute worst case scenario for someone. The reading books and getting a degree stuff is for people in prison, not jail.
 
Vulcano's Assistant

Vulcano's Assistant

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,471
This has been an element in stories about poverty for a very long time, the poor homeless man wanting to spend a night in jail because at least he has a roof, etc. Especially Depression era literature and fiction. But even in these fictional depictions there is a gulf of difference between going to jail for a day versus a long term, which meant hard labor in many states during the Great Depression.
 
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Torpedo Vegas

Torpedo Vegas

Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,548
Parts Unknown.
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Skulldead

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,449
luther manhole said:
this. my brother has been in out of jail for years and a big reason he has had to go back is because he couldn't afford the fines and fees of being in. you can get revoked for failure to pay. shit is fucked up.
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I didn't know that as a canadian i've never heard you have to pay for the prison "service" when you get out. If this is the case this could lead to a infernal circle...
 
Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,624
canada
All I'm saying is maybe check to see if kill the poor would work. Run it through the computer. Of course im not for it but just to see.
 
DrewFu

DrewFu

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Apr 19, 2018
10,360
I actually remember reading/hearing about people doing this during the recession - purposely going to jail/prison. I don't know how true it is, though.
 
Sunster

Sunster

The Fallen
Oct 5, 2018
10,003
no i can't do that. i'll obsess about how my life is wasting away and that i'm trapped. it would drive me over the edge
 
luther manhole

luther manhole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
556
OKC
Skulldead said:
I didn't know that as a canadian i've never heard you have to pay for the prison "service" when you get out. If this is the case this could lead to a infernal circle...
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thats exactly what it leads to. no one makes enough money in my family to cover his costs after he gets out and almost no one will hire him since he is a felon, so he goes back and gets more fines. this has been repeating for us since 2009.
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,374
Josh378 said:
This is for America:

Think about it. If you are poor, on the streets and no food or clothes on back, and it's winter time, would staying in jail be an option for you? Granted, you do get a criminal record.

I mean, your covered by the state with your healthcare as well as a bed and food daily. You are given shelter over your head as well. You have time to read books and watch TV from time to time and possibly get a college degree.

What are your thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I could see why people would think that.

Though the cops currently have the windows open in Riker's Island and are taking blankets away from prisoners out of spite, so...your mileage may vary.

Maybe prison in the sou- wait no...
 
WedgeX

WedgeX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,162
If you get locked up, you get a criminal record.

If you lack housing after leaving incarceration, you might get held past your sentence if they require a home address as part of their discharge plan (this varies by state).

If you get a criminal record, you often can't get a job. And without a job and with a criminal record, often you can't get housing.

If you lack a stable residence, getting Medicaid or other public benefits are made harder because you don't have a mailing address or place to keep important documents.

Then your left back on the streets with a criminal record, where the police are more likely to pick you back up.

So...no.
 
Kyougar

Kyougar

Cute Animal Whisperer
Member
Nov 3, 2017
9,347
must be a strange country, where it is easier and more desirable to get into prison and not apply for (or get granted) social welfare.

Mind you, there are some people who'd rather live on the street than applying for welfare for various reasons, but most of those reasons also make it unthinkable for them to get into prison.
It is also rather difficult to get into prison without doing some heavy shit (in Europe). There were two prominent cases in Germany about a 20 year old woman who burned down a car and a 58-year-old man who tried to rob a restaurant (and got naked in the courtroom to show how unhealthy his body is). Both got a "not guilty" from the judge and got psychiatric help instead.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,880
Some people do it but you need to be really, really desperate to do it. It is by no means a beneficial experience and is just trading one shitty situation for another
 
Soundscream

Soundscream

Member
Nov 2, 2017
9,230
Nah, it would make more sense to find a municipality that has programs for the homeless. The social stigma from being incarcerated is no joke
 
Nida

Nida

Member
Aug 31, 2019
11,120
Everett, Washington
BearPawB said:
People definitely do this.
Steal just so they get locked up to get out of the cold.

I think people are misinterpreting OP.
he isn't saying it is good that society makes this an option.

But it is the society a lot of us live in

www.theguardian.com

A fifth of all homeless people have committed a crime to get off the streets

Survey also finds that 28% of rough-sleeping women have taken an 'unwanted sexual partner' in order to find shelter
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

A 5th of all homeless people have done it



so im not sure why people are getting mad at the OP
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BearPawB said:
People definitely do this.
Steal just so they get locked up to get out of the cold.

I think people are misinterpreting OP.
he isn't saying it is good that society makes this an option.

But it is the society a lot of us live in

www.theguardian.com

A fifth of all homeless people have committed a crime to get off the streets

Survey also finds that 28% of rough-sleeping women have taken an 'unwanted sexual partner' in order to find shelter
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

A 5th of all homeless people have done it



so im not sure why people are getting mad at the OP
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Click to shrink...
Yeah I've heard about people in NYC destroying store windows during the winter.
 
butalala

butalala

Member
Nov 24, 2017
5,244
This is exactly what scrooge recommends in the beginning of A Christmas Carol. I hope the spirits visit you before it's too late!
 
DavidDesu

DavidDesu

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
5,718
Glasgow, Scotland
luther manhole said:
this. my brother has been in out of jail for years and a big reason he has had to go back is because he couldn't afford the fines and fees of being in. you can get revoked for failure to pay. shit is fucked up.
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Never knew this. Should have expected it given the whole thing is a big money making scheme combined with the "benefit" of keeping an entire race down. Holy moly America is as shitshow from start to finish.
 
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