$25 Prison Visit Fee. Am I wrong?

[Irving]

I can't think of any true rights that aren't protected by the Constitution.

On the subject of a child visiting a parent in prison. I would argue that having been deemed unfit to exist among society, and hence being locked up, they are clearly unfit to raise a child, and by committing a crime have forfeited the right to do so.

I said kid, not child. No one can raise a child from prison, but it's pretty hard to argue that a 12 year-old, or an adult 35 year-old visiting a parent in for life, is some how responsible for the actions of the parent.

[Outlaw1]

I'm in this discussion, because people keep mentioning what trash prisoners are, then turning around and saying how the people visiting them are the ones who need to be punished.

I'm not going to judge the people in prison for their actions and call them trash, but I will say they knew what the consequences were when they committed the crime (hopefully) and it doesn't sound unfair to ask them to pay their own debt. They voluntarily committed crimes and gave up their rights by their own free will.

I'm in the "the government does not need any more money" camp. Punishing offenders is a HUGE industry, and it shouldn't be that way. But that is a topic for another thread.

Who pays the bills for the industry? It would be nice to see the prisoner or person visiting them pitching in, not the government.

I have to pay to go to the museum or the zoo, it doesn't kill me. I'm happy I have the right to spend my money where I choose. If I don't want to pay the money, I just don't go.

What about a kid wanting to visit a parent? How are the imprisoned parent's actions the kids fault?

So should we let the prisoners out so they can raise their children, or do we let the kids go stay with them in the prison? The inmate took it upon themselves to ruin their lives. If it was important to raise their children they wouldn't have gotten locked up in the first place.

With the MASSIVE amount of people locked up in prisons all over the country that are not contributing to society, why not put them to work?

[Irving]

Outlaw, you are misinterpreting my responses to other people's questions/comments.

What I said about children, was in response to someone else saying that the parents of the prisoner should be punished because it is obviously their own fault for raising them poorly. This cannot apply to children. I was bringing up an example of a situation that does not fit the line of thinking that everyone who knows, and may choose to visit, a prisoner is some how responsible for them being there.

Go ahead and just ignore my comments about punishment turning into an industry as well. You completely missed what I meant by that, and again, that is an entirely different topic for a different thread. I don't know that it applies here, but I have a feeling that it does to some extent. Applies to prisoners in general, not this particular thread topic.

[mcantar18c]

A 12 year old doesn't have rights. Right or wrong, that's the law. Also, he's at a highly impressionable stage in life. No need to subject him to a convict trying to tell him that whatever crime he committed was somehow justified.
A 35yo visiting a lifer... well, he's an adult, he can do as he pleases.

[Guylee]

I agree 100% with you, there are exceptions to the rule in some cases, I personally know 2 cases.

My Brother in law, good man, had a job right out of the gate and has steadily gone up the ladder there, is a Mason and is a good family man and husband.

One of my good buddies, he is a Production Manager for a stone veneer company and once he got out, he has worked his ass of and is a productive member of society and can depend on him for just about anything.

I used to work for the stone veneer company, they are right by a half way house and they pull a lot of labor from them since its walking distance for them I gave 5 guys a shot at being my forklift mechanic or mechanics helper ( I was stupidvisor for maintenance for a year) and I ended up firing all 5 within the first month and had to depend on my buddy mentioned above to help me on weekend with repairs when the plant was shut down. He was the batch maker at the time and I taught him a shitload and used it to move up in the company.

Oh sure there's exceptions to the rule, I know a few myself. But on the whole, the entire system is out of whack.

Anyway, don't mean to derail the thread. I just can't stand it when people refer to our prison system as "rehabilitative."

[Irving]

A 12 year old doesn't have rights. Right or wrong, that's the law. Also, he's at a highly impressionable stage in life. No need to subject him to a convict trying to tell him that whatever crime he committed was somehow justified.
A 35yo visiting a lifer... well, he's an adult, he can do as he pleases.

You're mixing up my point about kids just like Outlaw. See my response to him.

[mcantar18c]

I think I get what you're saying. A 12yo kid isn't responsible for his parent's actions and so he shouldn't be punished for them by not being allowed to visit his father. Correct?
What I'm saying is that a 12yo kid is a minor and does not have the rights that go along with being a legal adult. So no, he does not have a right to see him, for that reason and those which I previously listed.

[Byte Stryke]

all of this noise over a one time background check.


society needs an enema.

[AirbornePathogen]

I've had to pay background check fees for buying a gun (gun show way back when), and getting my CCW. If you know someone who's incarcerated, nobody says you HAVE to visit them, send them money, pay their legal fees, etc. IMHO, where's the problem here?