As we presented on our podcast this week, “The Shu” seemed to be the most popular one. The stories of people being locked away for years and years without much human contact, completely baffles me. This brings me to my point. If our class was so concerned with the topic of the unfair treatment in the Shu, then others must feel this way about it too. With that said, why is nothing being done? The Shu is one of the largest issues with prison systems, but nothing is being done or not fast enough??
On a completely different note, Brandon, Sophia, Jake, and I, were talking about death row in study hall last week. Somehow we began discussing what would be our last meal if we were on death row. We established that Sophia’s would be lobster, Brandon’s would be eggs benedict, Jake’s would be steak, and mine would be blueberry waffles.
This sparked my interest on the real conditions and restrictions of the last meal on death row. I found that “Alcohol or tobacco are usually denied. Some states place tight restrictions. In Florida, the food for the last meal must be purchased locally and the cost is limited to $40. In Oklahoma, cost is limited to $15. In Louisiana, the prison warden traditionally joins the condemned prisoner for the last meal. On one occasion, the warden paid for an inmate's lobster dinner.” If it were up to me, I wouldn’t limit the price, but I would limit the number of items and how easily it could be obtained. They are already spending millions of dollars on the execution, what is another $100??
Hypothetically speaking, what would y’all’s last meal be?
5 comments:
I agree with you that the SHU is a very cruel punishment, as it causes a complete mental breakdown of the people subjected to that sort of treatment. Further, it can cause someone who already suffers from mental illness to become clinically insane. For those reasons, I believe that some sort of reform must be implemented when it comes to higher punishment for criminals.
Also, with regards to my last meal on death row, I think that this is a really interesting topic, even though it is a little sad to think about. Anyways, I would have to say I would request some fettuccine alfredo pasta with breadsticks on the side. It’s not my favorite meal, but it’s filling, and it would make me forget about what’s coming next for me.
Ending solitary confinement is not as easy as it sounds. Many people will argue that there are some individuals that are too dangerous to be kept in the general prison population. So that means there will always be people who are in SHU like facilities. The real question is are we as a society willing to trade the problems with the SHU for the problems of having potentially dangerous inmates in the general prison population?
That must have been a very interesting conversation about the food on death row (I also think the topic of food in general in prison would be very interesting to research!). I agree with Lindsey on this one about the price of the last meal. I think it should be unlimited. But I also think they shouldn't be limited in the number of items. Honestly, I think they should be able to choose whatever and however much they want. A person is about to die and will never get anything else ever, so I feel like they should be able to pick anything.
Also, hypothetically, if I had to choose a last meal it would most likely be some type of boiled seafood like crawfish and shrimp!
I think my last meal would be a type of Ethiopian meal, a type of bread called injera with variations of meat and stew. It's rather interesting, the injera is essentially used like a fork or spoon to scoop up pieces of food to be eaten together, it makes for a nice blend of flavors. As for why solitary confinement is still legal, I couldn't say exactly. I don't believe it's humane.
As far as the SHU is concerned i think it is because most people who are put in it are (just) forgotten prisoners. And because of this I think they are usually forgotten, they are kept away from society, so therefore out of mind. But solitary confinement, absolutely should be abolished in my mind. My last meal would be sushi, I absolutely love sushi.
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