It always hurts to see family go to prison, but it's tough love on behalf of the system. Don't mean to sound reprimanding, but if your brother is as big a fuck up as you say, maybe prison is what needed to happen for him to wake up. The stigma of being an ex-felon will follow him forever, and hopefully act as a reminder of why he shouldn't break the law.Atheist. said:
So... My little brother is going to prison.
- Thread starter Atheist.
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Well as far as I can say he should just serve his time, prison is usually for second or third offenders if I'm not mistaken, maybe prison is a good thing, maybe it's not, the fact is, for some people, if you can get away with something once, what's to stop you from doing it again?
Fact is, the American prison system as with most in the world rely of psychology and psychiatry for their views on rehabilitation. i.e. They basically never accomplish anything and don't really believe helping someone is possibly anyway. Thus they'll never achieve anything.
In a real justice system people would be helped and rehabilitated. But we're a long way from achieving that.
In a real justice system people would be helped and rehabilitated. But we're a long way from achieving that.
My biological father was in and out of jail for the first 12 years of my life. One of my earliest memories is the call he'd get to make every Sunday.Atheist. said:
Yeah, I don't have much in the way of actual advice for you or anything, but feel free to send me a message if you ever need someone to vent to.
Atheist. said:
Let's see...
My younger uncle went to prison for attempted murder.
My aunt had been in prison many times for many reasons, mostly drug related.
My cousin has been in prison over a dozen times, mostly for arson.
My other cousin has been in prison for prostitution.
A few others, too.
Just a heads up - He'll be out in a year and a half, maybe 2. Only the extreme sentences (or specifically, extreme convictions) stick to their length. He'll only stay the full term if he acts up in prison.
Honestly, the entire situation depends on where he is located (as in, a rough prison or a not-so-bad one), and how impressionable he is.
My uncle (who was convicted on a pretty much bullshit charge) actually earned a degree while in prison and got out early. He came out better.
My aunt and cousins have never benefited though - They absorb the culture, make contacts, and end up worse for it.
Personally I don't think 3-5 years is enough, but whatever. A crime's a crime, and needs to be punished.
The law system of today answers injustice with injustice, and that's just how it is. I've had someone break into my own home before, and there's just no excuse to do it. 3-5 years is very well deserved, even though I'd vote for longer.
The law system of today answers injustice with injustice, and that's just how it is. I've had someone break into my own home before, and there's just no excuse to do it. 3-5 years is very well deserved, even though I'd vote for longer.
Prison is pretty much work conference for criminals.
I spent 6 days in a minimum security facility for refusal to pay a fine for vandalism back when I was a wild youth and if I'd wanted to I could have made all sorts of professional criminal contacts there.
Funny thing about prison is that everyone there is a criminal so if you want to make contacts or learn new tricks of the trade, so to speak, thats where you go.
I spent 6 days in a minimum security facility for refusal to pay a fine for vandalism back when I was a wild youth and if I'd wanted to I could have made all sorts of professional criminal contacts there.
Funny thing about prison is that everyone there is a criminal so if you want to make contacts or learn new tricks of the trade, so to speak, thats where you go.
It does irritate me when people see prison as some kind of therapy session that's meant to fix people. It's not, it's a punishment. That's it. The government could crack down on all the stereotypical horrible stuff that goes on in higher security prisons, but it doesn't (while maintaining enough of an effort to prevent outrage) because it makes prison an even more undesirable place to be. Don't do bad stuff, you get to live with an intact rectum. Simple. You come out of prison, don't want to go back. Okay, don't break the law. It's meant to make people realize breaking the law isn't worth the horrible consequences.
As for druggies, though, I'd say rehabilitation is the better solution. They're doing this crap out of desperation. Your brother robbed someone for drug money, I'd say he needs to go to a secure correctional facility (they might send him there, I don't know). If he is a druggy, rehab is the best thing for him. Too bad it got made mandatory when he was caught, and it might come back to bite him when he comes out, but that's life, I'm afraid.
As for druggies, though, I'd say rehabilitation is the better solution. They're doing this crap out of desperation. Your brother robbed someone for drug money, I'd say he needs to go to a secure correctional facility (they might send him there, I don't know). If he is a druggy, rehab is the best thing for him. Too bad it got made mandatory when he was caught, and it might come back to bite him when he comes out, but that's life, I'm afraid.
Drug abuse is more a medical issue then a criminal one. There really needs to more of a focus in rehabilitation in prisons. It won't happen anytime soon. Knowing how people regard criminals.
I hope your brother fixes his act before he destroys his life completely. It's never easy for a person to change for the better.
I hope your brother fixes his act before he destroys his life completely. It's never easy for a person to change for the better.
Psychiatry certainly doesn't have all the answers, But to suggest your statement is true is an extreme generalization and besides simply isn't true. You cannot purport to know what psychiatrists 'believe' any more than i can sit here and claim your favorite beverage is OJ.zarguhl said:
The truth is, they know what they don't know, no one gets into a field of study because they believe its worthless and they will never accomplish anything.
Being a thief isn't a problem in the mind that can be solved by simple rehab. Being a thief is a problem that can be solved by kicking the sense into them, the kind of kicking that only a prison can provide. Basically, while he's in jail he should get off the drugs by his own willpower and learn some fucking discipline. I don't think people who can't even try to help themselves deserve any of anyone else's time to help them, it just doesn't work. If you, him or your family are willing to pay for rehab then great, go for that, but the government sure as shit shouldn't be paying for it.
Shame your little brother but don't disown him like many people would. Visit him when you can, try and do it as often as you can, and make sure he's not doing drugs in prison. If you don't think that he should be given up on, then you have to make the effort not to give up on him.
Shame your little brother but don't disown him like many people would. Visit him when you can, try and do it as often as you can, and make sure he's not doing drugs in prison. If you don't think that he should be given up on, then you have to make the effort not to give up on him.
The problem with saying "just fine him" is that...well...quite frankly if you're stealing to feed a drug habit you won't have money to pay a fine with.
Alot of people also seem to be looking at prison as some sort of rehabit center. It's not just about treating criminals - it's also about keeping criminals away from other people. You can't steal from someones house inside a prison.
Alot of people also seem to be looking at prison as some sort of rehabit center. It's not just about treating criminals - it's also about keeping criminals away from other people. You can't steal from someones house inside a prison.
Breaking in and stealing from someone? I'd say he got off easy with 3-5 years. If he were one of the people that broke in and robbed my grandmother I'd want him away for life. No sympathy at all, that's the reason there's a fucking law.
I feel you man.
My older (he's 20) brother is on the edge and is heading down the road to the slammer himself.
It is a sad thing to see your own blood going down a road like that.
I hear you when you say if he'd just get his act together he'd be a better person, but sadly, that's their own call.
I wish you and your family the best of luck with all this.
Hope my bro doesn't wind up in the jail, he wouldn't last long at all.
Best wish friend,
Axel
My older (he's 20) brother is on the edge and is heading down the road to the slammer himself.
It is a sad thing to see your own blood going down a road like that.
I hear you when you say if he'd just get his act together he'd be a better person, but sadly, that's their own call.
I wish you and your family the best of luck with all this.
Hope my bro doesn't wind up in the jail, he wouldn't last long at all.
Best wish friend,
Axel
That actually does sound a bit harsh, if only because I had a friend who did about the same with an existing record and only received a few months in jail. Granted, she was supposed to spend a year in prison, but for reasons I can't recall they switched it to jail at the last minute.
To be honest, I don't know about rehabilitation. The friend mentioned in the above paragraph only reformed because she had another kid and her boyfriend turned his life around to support her. My dad has had serious drug problems since he was a kid, and they persist to this day. I unfortunately do not know your brother, nor can I guess at the epiphany which would make him strive to avoid the consequences of his current course of action.
To be honest, I don't know about rehabilitation. The friend mentioned in the above paragraph only reformed because she had another kid and her boyfriend turned his life around to support her. My dad has had serious drug problems since he was a kid, and they persist to this day. I unfortunately do not know your brother, nor can I guess at the epiphany which would make him strive to avoid the consequences of his current course of action.
Sorry but this doesn't sound too harsh at all. Most theft charges I have heard of in the US seem to carrying around a 3 year prison sentence some even going as high as 9 years prison.
Now whilst heaps of people will blame the system for furthering the fall of these people, your forgetting that many of these individuals are single-handedly responsible for the outcome they get. If he wants to run around robbing houses to pay for a drug habit then its his own damn fault if he gets prison for it.
Personally I have many relatives that are junkies, they steal anything and everything that is not bolted down to floor and even then they'll still give it a go. and yeah the first few times its like "oh poor them" etc but after awhile you'll come to see that they don't want to change their lifestyle which makes all the "rehab" in the world useless unless he himself is going to take it all in and do something with it.
Yeah sure its sad and nobody wants to see their kid brother/sister go down that road but you can't protect them forever and you won't change them unless they want to change for themselves.
At some point he's gotta make his own choices and stand on his own two feet, you know the old saying "You make your own bed, you lie in it" (or something).
Til then tell him to keep his head down and do his own time, not anyone else's (that includes prison staff) and if he wants to avoid a repeat well then he needs to stop stealing.
Now whilst heaps of people will blame the system for furthering the fall of these people, your forgetting that many of these individuals are single-handedly responsible for the outcome they get. If he wants to run around robbing houses to pay for a drug habit then its his own damn fault if he gets prison for it.
Personally I have many relatives that are junkies, they steal anything and everything that is not bolted down to floor and even then they'll still give it a go. and yeah the first few times its like "oh poor them" etc but after awhile you'll come to see that they don't want to change their lifestyle which makes all the "rehab" in the world useless unless he himself is going to take it all in and do something with it.
Yeah sure its sad and nobody wants to see their kid brother/sister go down that road but you can't protect them forever and you won't change them unless they want to change for themselves.
At some point he's gotta make his own choices and stand on his own two feet, you know the old saying "You make your own bed, you lie in it" (or something).
Til then tell him to keep his head down and do his own time, not anyone else's (that includes prison staff) and if he wants to avoid a repeat well then he needs to stop stealing.
Well... none of my family members went to prison ever (in living memory) I used to work in a jail and am a currently a detective that catches people like your brother. (crimes against property)Atheist. said:
Burglary is a very serious offense. Even if it's non violent I've seen more than a few people become agoraphobic after a burglary. It's being violated on a very personal level. Chances are the only reason it wasn't 'violent' is because your brother was lucky enough that the people didn't come home. He had to go in likely having a plan for IF they did come home.
Second sentences for most crimes are determined by the state. 3-5 is standard for a SECOND burglary charge or one that has an extensive record before it. The first is usually 2-3. In addition nearly every state has some sort of 'for every day you're good you get out X days earlier' program.
As far as flexibility propaganda constantly comes out how 'mandatory minimum sentences' exist. While they do in some capacity. With the right lawyer or right conditions your brother could spend say a year in jail and then the remaining 5 on probation. Or he could take classes to get a GED, or learn a Trade skill while in Jail/Prison (this is why soooo many people that work in construction have criminal records) In addition Parole officers work very hard with ex-cons to re-integrate them back in to the outside world. Helping them find jobs and so forth. Most people I've seen fail their Parole/Probation do so because they don't take it seriously or blow off what their officer says.
... a quarter of his life? You know how old your brother is going to be when he dies? Is it 20 years old?
Before anyone ignorant brings it up thanks to President Bush (in the ONLY thing I like that he ever did) [a href=http://community.nicic.gov/blogs/prea/default.aspx]Prison Rape Elimination Act[/a] has helped the corrections community identify, isolate and punish predators on a level that has reduced the commonality of such things are now very rare. Even still your brother will likely be going to a 'minimum' security facility which will be filled with similarly non-violent offenders... unless it's 'minimum-medium' in which case he might have to share his living quarters with child molesters depending on how they separate people at his facility.
I have seen plenty of people go to the cooler for short sentences only to come out as productive (albeit blue collar) workers.