To think prisoners should be safe in prison?

[BlueJuniper94]

Is this an unreasonable belief? I know Ian Huntley committed horrific crimes and I really do sympathise with the feelings that he deserves it in light of what his victims have suffered and continue to suffer.

BUT - this shouldn't be allowed to happen in prisons. Aibu?

I think it’s unrealistic, without infinite resources, to keep everyone safe in prison.

Prisons are basically full of criminals, so generally they’re going to be people with less than average regard for the feelings of others. They’re also deprived of freedom, grumpy about life, and probably angry much of the time, so it’s inevitable that there’ll be friction, which can lead to violence.

Unless there was enough money to have huge numbers of staff present constantly, I don’t see how violent attacks could be prevented.

"prisoners should be safe in prison" isn't an unreasonable belief, but they overwhelmingly are safe in prison.

"no harm must ever possibly come to anyone in prison" would be an unreasonable expecation.

The man who attacked Huntley was a triple killer - he murdered a pregnant woman and a mother and her son. The mother had 116 separate injuries. The killings happened in my area and I just keep thinking of his victim's families today. Some of the comments about buying him a drink and giving him a medal are so disrespectful I can't imagine how they must feel today

I absolutely agree. Vigilante justice is not justice at all.

Of course they should be safe in prison!

The other thing about saying it's fine to beat up/rape/kill other prisoners, is that you're teaching the prisoner, who as pointed out will have done similar crimes to the victim, that it's fine to beat up/rape/kill people if you think they deserve it.

I thought we were talking specifically about UK prisons, given recent events. I definitely can't comment on the prison services in other countries.

I agree with you because you’re (in my opinion) obviously logically right.

We don’t give people the penalty of any kind of corporal punishment in this country as a matter of decided principle (correctly imo). If someone has been sentenced to prison their punishment doesn’t include being beaten up so we should do everything possible to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Do I actually feel any sympathy for him? - no. I think that would be very difficult in the circumstances.

Do I think your position is logically correct? - yes, and that’s what I’d go with.

Edited a grammatical error - there may be more!

@Flizzy
The perpetrator will obviously get time added to his sentence but will he care? No, as he’s already on a long sentence

Yes he deserves it. What kind of question is that?

I was speaking to dd about this when we heard it on the radio in the car. There are some people in prison who you hear have been injured and you shrug your shoulders and think, well, they were awful and nobody cares. But attacks in prison shouldn't happen. They should be safe. And for every report of an attack on a horrible, high profile prisoner, there are loads more unreported ones on inmates who might be convicted crinimals but they don't deserve to be living in fear of being injured.

Both the men should have had the death penalty.

I don't feel any sympathy for this victim; there is a sense in which he deserves it but at the same time violence is not the answer to violence. I also do not want to be a person who celebrates violence.

The other thing is, we’re all pretty sure that this particular prisoner is guilty, and I’m sure that’s correct and he is.

But there will be people in prison who are wrongly convicted- there always will be unfortunately- or at least there hasn’t yet been created a foolproof system.

If we allow vigilante justice in prisons, or turn a blind eye, it will inevitably be extended to those who are wringly convicted, because this is more likely to happen re highly emotive crimes (think of the miscarriages of justice re terrorism - hardly anyone would think the offences people were wrongly convicted of there, multiple murders, were minor).

I don’t think anything should happen to prisoners or be done to them that would make us ashamed as a nation if any particular prisoner turned out to be wrongly convicted. It will always be awful when this turns out to be the case, but it is a lot worse when it comes out that they’ve been further punished in prison - extra-judicially.

Even if he deserves it, doesn’t mean it is right.

Makes us all no better than murderers if we sanction this sort of thing.

What about prison officers in prison you haven't mentioned them. Are you only worried about the prisoners?

As for prisoners if you don't want to be attacked stay out of there. It's simple.

Every single prisoner in prison has made an active choice to be in there.
I'm sure most normal people today are thinking about the victims, of the crime, their family, and doctors and nurses who have to treat these odious creatures when they are bought in to hospital , not worrying about the low lives who frequent prison.

@BlueJuniper94

I agree with you we either have regulated corporal punishment and the death penalty or we have imprisonment where there should be regulated safety for inmates.

We should not be ok with other violent criminals doing what we maybe would prefer to have happened. If you think Huntley deserved what he got then you need to lobby to bring that punishment in as a state option.

Also in a world where male violence is a huge problem for everyone. We should not be celebrating this.

The punishment is loss of liberty, not living in fear. The fact is, nasty hardened criminals probably don't need to worry much about violence when inside. It's the softer ones, who would suffer. And that technically could be any of us. Think mistake while driving, miscarriage of justice, self-defence etc.

The chap who hurt him is in prison for evil crimes too. If he could attack a prisoner like that I assume he could attack a guard or other member of staff too

He does deserve it, but that’s not the same thing as thinking it’s ok for it to happen.

I agree prisoners should be kept safe yes. Do I give a 💩 that Huntley has been beaten up? No.
What I do care about though is the fact that both the Wells and Chapman families along with their wider friends and family will have woken yesterday morning to find the face of their daughters killer on the front page/ news. Dragging it all up again. I know from bitter experience how much of a shock and gut punch it can be to be unexpectedly confronted with the image of someone who you would like to never see or speak of again.
I don’t think it should have been on the news out of respect for his victims families. And its them who are in my thoughts.

The only people who are required to be safe in prison are the staff.

It makes me sick that this guy is suddenly a “hero”.

He’s not a fucking hero to the family of the people he killed.

Fucking disgusting.