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State Prisons Desperately Need Changing
risons are places where
people are sent to be punished for breaking the laws of the land. They aren't meant to be comfortable.
That being said, in a civi- lized society, penal institu- tions aren't supposed to be used as chambers of torture either. But, unfortunately for the multitude of individuals paying their societal debts locked inside of state-run fa- cilities, that's exactly what they've become.
Talk to anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time inside one of these places and they'll tell you sto- ries of cruelty that could rival anything cooked up in the mind of a Hollywood screen writer. Accounts of correc- tion officers keeping jars filled with the gold teeth kicked from the mouths of inmates, brutal beat downs for the most minor of of- fenses and the near constant serving of rotten or spoiled food to those unlucky enough to be confined to special housing units are just some of the atrocities that take place behind fences topped with barbed wire.
For years I've received let- ters from men and women suffering these deplorable conditions. While those who've reached out to me come from different back- grounds, and the circum- stances behind their incarcerations differ, there is one common theme throughout all of their com- munications.... They each de- scribe their experience as a form of hell.
The problem they face in their struggle to find some-
one, anyone, to listen to their grievances is that no one seems to care. Their pleas, more often than not, fall on deaf ears because, in the mind of the average person on the street, those who are incarcerated are receiving the exact treatment they de- serve, regardless of how hor- rific.
Though this way of think- ing is far from uncommon, it does more harm than good for several reasons: First, it implies that anyone who's convicted of a crime, regard- less of the seriousness, is no longer entitled to be treated humanely.
Secondly, it gives correc- tions officers the green light to continue their misconduct under the misguided belief that the abuse they adminis- ter is a public service.
And, lastly, it creates an environment that could po- tentially turn an individual, who would be otherwise open to rehabilitation, into another monster incapable of functioning outside of cap- tivity.
All of these seem to be counterproductive to the goals that a so-called "De- partment of Corrections" should be attempting to achieve. I mean, seriously, what positive role could treating someone like an an- imal play in correcting their behavior?
ForaslongasIcanre- member I've heard politi- cians use the high recidivism rate as an excuse to imple- ment tougher laws and make serving time as harsh as pos- sible. But, to me, their strat- egy seems to defeat the
purpose because, unless you give everyone a life-sentence, what benefit is there to be gained by keeping a man or woman locked up for an ex- tended amount of time in a volatile environment, that breaks the the mind, body and spirit, only to release them back into the commu- nity?
I'm sure, for the lawmak- ers who make these deci- sions and who live in well-to-do areas, the idea of severely damaged individu- als roaming the streets is of no consequence. But, for those who have to deal with these thoroughly destroyed souls who re-enter their neighborhoods, the lack of true rehabilitation becomes a very serious issue.
You would think that after decades of a failed "throw away the key and treat 'em like crap" philosophy, elected officials in positions to make a difference would try a dif- ferent approach.
Something along the lines of raising the educational hiring requirements for prison guards, making living conditions a little less hostile and offering job training to inmates in industries that ac- tually employ convicted felons.
As easy as it would be to make these tweaks to the system, you have to wonder why they haven't already been done? Then again, there would have to exist a willingness on the part of those in positions of author- ity to make the necessary changes. And, unfortunately for the men and women cur- rently being racked through the process, that desire to do what makes perfect sense doesn't appear to be materi- alizing anytime soon.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110-018, Oak- dale F. C. I., P. O. BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Reasons Why You Should Get More Than One Appraisal When Selling Your Home
his is not to insinuate that when you’re thinking
about selling your home that almost everybody you deal with is out to get you. But there are reasons you should beware.
For instance, if you live in areas that are rapidly undergoing new housing development (places like West Tampa, North Hyde Park etc.) and if you’re in- terested in selling your home, you’d do well to make sure you check recent neighborhood sales and zip codes before you sell or else what has happened to a growing number of longtime homeowners might hap- pen to you.
Recently, an unsuspecting homeowner was left wondering why his ranch-style, in good condition, three bedroom, one and half bathrooms, 1,976 sq. foot brick house poised on a 9600 sq. ft. lot was appraised at $230,000.00, while a comparable two bedroom, two bathroom 1,384 sq. ft. brick home in the middle of the next block sold for just over $290 thousand dol- lars. Even more mysterious, an 810 wooden square foot home a block away with two bedrooms, one bath on an 8,6333 sq. ft. lot sold for just over $450,000.
Is your common sense beginning to swim?
While items including location, crime rate, prox- imity to schools, hospitals and parks, structural ma- terials, age, style and design, landscaping, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, central air and heat, storage space, garage space as well as recent renovations to homes no doubt play a part in the ap- praiser’s final opinions, we’ve discovered another in- gredient too often seeps in.
That ingredient is skin color.
Listen to author Ellis Cose who describes what hap- pens when a Black journalist gets a 15% increase in his home appraisal when he has his white secretary show the author’s house to a different appraiser as if it was her own.
Cose’s example is only one of many, which sadly leads us to conclude that the color of your house, es- pecially in your realtor’s or appraiser’s eyes, may be the color of your skin.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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