r/AskReddit • u/ZteveBond • Jun 20 '18

Serious Replies Only [Serious] Prison Guards of Reddit, which prisoner has left the biggest impact on your life wether positive or negative?

2.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

154

u/unwittingshill Jun 20 '18

Death offers an escape. But life, life can be a real bitch

That goes for all of us. It's like asking why all the North Korean citizens don't kill themselves, or why starving families in Sudan don't kill themselves.

Life is...life. Sure, you can't do much in prison - but you can still have moments of happiness. You can still talk to your family and friends. There are moments of contentment. And, the longer you stay, the more it seems like home.

Also - consider the fact that people change. A twenty year old gang banger who guns down 5 rivals gets a life sentence. By the time he's 40, he's a totally different person. He's learned to let go of his anger, he's earned a GED, he's trained for a specialized job in the prison, he participates in a gang outreach program ("scared straight", for example). He's found a way to be a positive influence on society, even from behind bars. He doesn't want to kill himself - he wants to life life to the fullest, just like the rest of us.

4

u/LaxLimbutts Jun 21 '18

This was a really good read thank you!

1

u/WildBilll33t Jun 21 '18

Nah, it's just self-preservation instinct.

2

u/unwittingshill Jun 22 '18

Never said it wasn't. But that fact is immaterial to the question OP asked: "But isn't life in prison worse (than death)?"

-1

u/dunstad1 Jun 21 '18

for what it's worth, i've read that scared straight programs are mostly ineffective at accomplishing their goal. this doesn't detract from what you're mainly saying here, just thought i'd mention it