March 10, 2019

Prisoners, Do We Deserve Any Of The Same Treatment?

From Prison Dad by Robert Pezzeca (author's profile)


February 24, 2019
Prisoners, do we deserve any of the same treatment?

Hi. I've been away and very sporadic for quite some time, and I'm sorry about that. I know people read what I write and I truly appreciate that.

Today I want to ask you: do prisoners deserve some of the same rights as society? You tell me your opinion. Do we deserve the right to earn enough money to support not just ourselves but also a portion for the incarceration? Do I deserve to work and earn enough money to survive, help my struggling daughter, and pay the taxpayers back fro some of the costs that they pay to keep me here? What do you think?

Prison is supposed to be about rehabilitation. But if it is, why is the return rate so high? Why is it that people who are convicted of murder and then released after 25+ years at 50+ years of age? Why is it that the return rate of those in Pennsylvania are almost nonexistent? But all other crimes, the return rate is almost an absolute. Why are we continuing to warehouse human beings?

I can see if the person was a coldblooded murderer, but for that's not the case for most. And I'll be real: it takes a very strong and forgiving person to say they are okay with the person going home who killed their loved one. I am moved by those who have the capacity to say and do that.

But my complaint today is that we are forced to work for wages from 19 cents to 42 cents an hour. We are allowed to work six hour days max. We get no overtime.

And prison is expensive. Contrary to what people think, we get very little given to us here. Once a year, you get three sets of free underclothes. Each week you get one roll of toilet paper and one bar of soap. Nothing else. If we were able to earn more money, we could pay taxes. We could pay part of our own way. I could pay for college classes in here instead of getting no education at all. I could save money to help my daughter. But when you make $15-$40 a month working, you can save nothing.

Last year in Aprol, I was ordered to carry a 300 sheet of metal. I told the boss it was too heavy for me, but he said it was do the job or get written up, put in the hole, and fired. So I did it. The end result was it was too heavy and my left bicep was torn off. The bone required a $250,000 surgery bill.

So you tell me: what do you think? Do prisoners deserve the right to pay their own way? You can't charge us for being here if we have no money. I am currently trying to get some state reps to look into this.

Did you know that Pennsylvania has the largest amount of human beings on probation or parole? We lead the entire country in this statistic.

Let me talk a little about LWOP (life without parole) sentences. Why is this sentence okay? Why is it that a 17 year old can murder three people and go home after less than 20 years, but a man who was 18, who was not a killer in his crime, rot in prison for 40 years after the crime? Why is this okay? Why does Pennsylvania's legislature act afraid to change the laws when it pertains to murder? Not everyone deserves a second chance, but who does deserve one?

If I had to say, first would be the people who did not kill anyone. Next would be the elderly who have been here for 35+ years and been model prisoner. Is it justice to allow every single one of them to die in here? I don't believe so, but I leave this up to you to decide.

Issues like these should be decided as a whole not by a dictatorship. Our nation is not a democratic one lately. Pennsylvania is not and most of our nation isn't anymore. Milton Street ran for Pennsylvania state representative last election day. He lost, but he was quoted as saying that the reason he was running as a Republican is because the Republicans have their way while the Democrats have their say in Pennsylvania.

Since the Republicans are the majority (but not by much), we hope this will change in 2020. They can pass any bill they want no matter if it's good or bad. Politics will never be easy, but I have learned that there are some very good people in the Pennsylvania House and Senate.

But I leave you with that. If you wanna open up a dialogue with me about any of this, please feel free to do so. I have met some amazing people on this site. I've even gained some family. Take care, and I look forward to your comments and responses. And if you're wondering, I enjoy them because I want to know how society thinks. If there's anything that you want to know, please feel free to ask.

Until next time. Ciao.


Replies (6) Replies feed

Julia Posted 5 months, 1 week ago. ✓ Mailed 5 months ago   Favorite
Hi Robert,
one part of what you wrote made me think of something I read. The part of it taking a very frogiving person to being ok with someone released that killed a loved one. Well, after looking up the article I realized it is rather about victims that survived the crime, but still I think it might be interesting. Its writte by Michelle Alexander recently in NYT, I give you the interesting passages:

Reckoning With Violence




Editors’ Picks
‘Tell Your Husband to Leave Me Alone’




Sign Up for Paul Krugman's Newsletter










Hope you find this interesting too, Robert.
Have a good day, Julia

Robert Pezzeca Posted 4 months ago.   Favorite
(scanned reply – view as blog post)

We will print and mail your reply by . Guidelines

Other posts by this author


Get notifications when new letters or replies are posted!

Posts by Robert Pezzeca : RSS email me
Comments on “Prisoners, Do We Deserve Any Of The Same Treatment?”: RSS email me
Featured posts: RSS email me
All Between the Bars posts: RSS