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hospitals have prohibitions against cell phones so there is no reason those could not be made in prisons, too

Hospitals have a rule against using cell phones. I can tell you first-hand that cell phones work fine in hospitals, and most patients and their visitors use them.

It is already illegal under state law for prisoners to possess or use a cell phone. It is also illegal for them to have alcohol, weapons, drugs, or sexual contact—but they do.

The prison management can detect cell phone activity, but they probably can't pin down the location closely enough before the conversation ends. They do catch thousands of prisoners with cell phones every year, and also visitors and employees trying to smuggle them in.

Again, the state legislature establishes the budget. It's their call. They respond to what their voters and contributors want. That's why we have longer actual sentences for growing pot than murder or child molesting.

- Jim

chasfm11 wrote:Some of this is pretty easy to fix. Cell phone jamming equipment is available,...

Cell phone jamming is illegal under federal law. This is a hot topic. You can search the web for it.

I agree the law can be changed, but someone has to lobby for it. The extent of prison corruption is not widely known until it turns into a sex scandal, and then the news-consuming public just twitters and smirks about it.

Legislators are busy advancing their own pet projects. In this forum we say that you can't prevent crime by fettering law-abiding citizens, and I agree. However legislators and public officials on both sides of the aisle are quick to do exactly that, requiring registration of over-the-counter antihistamines and going on witch hunts for pornography and prostitution.

P.S.: Again, it's easy to say that government can't spend more than it takes in. Fine, that's obvious. State prisons are paid for largely by state sales tax. County jails are paid for by local real-estate tax and the county share of sales tax. If we want to spend more on prisons and jails, something else has to give. That could road construction and maintenance, schools, policing, Medicaid, parks, etc. A small number of lines items are a big proportion of the budget.

TANSTAAFL.

- Jim

ELB wrote:Prison sentences most certainly deter - by preventing - crimes the prisoner would otherwise commit if still out walking the street.

The concept of deterrence is to discourage someone from taking a course of action in advance, by warning of the consequences.

It seems obvious that imprisoning a convict would prevent the convict from committing further crimes while in prison, but that is not always the case.

According to prison officials and prosecutors, prisoners using cell phones (which they cannot legally possess) are operating gangs and orchestrating witness intimidation and assassinations from prison. These are the so called drug lords and gang bosses who do much more damage than your run-of-the-mill thief or burglar.

They also bribe guards to smuggle drugs into the prison, arrange liaisons with women, and provide other luxuries.

Prisoners also assault and murder other prisoners. Granted, the victims are themselves convicted felons, but they were not sentenced to torture and execution.

- Jim

chasfm11 wrote:I understand that a stay in the "big house" is more likely to refine whatever skills that they have rather than dissuading them from future errant behavior.

I do not hesitate to admit what I don't know, and in this case I don't know.

Supposedly some inmates spend a lot of time talking about crime techniques, how to avoid getting caught, how to beat the legal system, etc.

What I am sure of is that many join gangs who were not formerly gang members, and some come out with a huge chip on their shoulder. Those issues, combined with their slim employment prospects, lead to recidivism.

I have seen wildly varying numbers for recidivism rates. Frankly, I think the statistics can be doctored to favor or oppose any particular correctional program.

We tend to see the worst cases of career criminals who are convicted and paroled multiple times until they either commit a capital offense or get killed during a criminal exploit.

We don't know how many first-time offenders who get probation never offend again.

Finally, I will once again say that long prison sentences cost the taxpayers money. Perhaps they save money and lives for society overall, but the bills and salaries for the prison still have to be paid.

- Jim

chasfm11 wrote:What are the chances that they will receive punishment in line with a felony conviction?

I don't know. It depends upon other factors that I don't at this time:

• Did they have prior adult offenses?
• When arrested did they have illegal drugs, weapons, or stolen goods from other crimes?
• Can the state prove that they are gang members?

If it is their first adult offense, most likely they will get a plea bargain and probation. If it's a felony, even if they get deferred adjudication, they will have a couple of years of supervision, which they have to pay for, filling up a specimen jar once a month, etc., and they will carry some consequences of that for life. For example they can never get a CHL or hold a position of trust.

The Galveston County DA, Jack Roady, has jurisdiction over this case. He is self-described as tough on crime.

I'm not convinced that prison sentences are a deterrent to the kind of people who commit violent crimes. Those people are either too stupid to consider the consequences of their actions, or think they're smart enough not to get caught.

BTW, the closure rate on crimes like burglary and robbery is around 30%. Those are not great odds, but better than roulette.

- Jim

In League City Monday a homeowner in the 6200 block of Silver Leaf Drive came home around 1 p.m. and found two suspected burglars in a vehicle in his driveaway. The suspects fled in the vehicle. The homeowner tailed them until they were stopped by a police officer. No one was injured.

The suspects, 19- and 21-year-old males from Pasadena, had stolen only an iPod, although they had staged other items in the kitchen.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/221278" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This location is an upscale neighborhood about two miles west of I-45. It's a quick getaway. If the homeowner had been a few minutes later, probably the burglars would have gotten away.

Now they have a slam-dunk felony conviction for a used iPod that probably is worth $100.

- Jim