Prison PTSD, and A.I. in Healthcare, Education, and Prison systems.

I can't help but wonder what kind of long term effects prison has on a person.

The isolation, the abuses of power, the withholding of even the most basic human rights, it's tragic to consider that the inmates are treated less than animals.

We fund a corrupt system that does not invest in rehabilitation. It is a business that counts on recidivism. Why would a business that directly profits from re-incarceration want to rehabilitate the offenders that keep them in business?

I know that much of America and the world for that matter have never had to deal with the prison system directly. Until my previous relationship I was also ignorant to the reality prisoners face, but now I know. We cannot do before we learn, but once we know it is up to each of us to point out the things that are not working and make adjustments accordingly. I don't have the money or power to force change, but I have my thoughts, insights, and observations. If I can share them with the world to make the world even a little better I am happy to do so.

Objectivity is impartiality, being unbiased and fair. Objectivity is being open minded and exploring all of the perspectives. I witnessed racist staff in prisons, I have heard from reliable sources of multiple inappropriate sexual relationships between offenders and staff, and I myself have been bullied, sexually harassed, and held unlawfully by some of the staff at Statesville Prison when I attended visits.

With my two oldest children I was locked in and subjected to a female guard who had an inappropriate relationship with an inmate at the time, call me a bitch among other names and refuse to unlock the door and let us out. Her verbal abuse continued for several minutes before one of the other staff members intervened and finally unlocked the door. If I was subjected to that kind of treatment as a free citizen of the United States of America just imagine what the inmates are up against.

I made the trip to Statesville Prison in Joliet Il from my home in Chicago Il every weekend and holiday for over a year while my person finished his prison sentence. I cannot even guess how many times I showed up in an outfit deemed appropriate by one guard that the next one found unacceptable. I would guess that nearly 50% of the time that I showed up for a visit I was denied entry and had to drive to Ross and spend money that I really couldn't afford to spend to buy another outfit and pray to god they would not find another trivial concern with the new outfit and turn me away again.

Focus for inmates should be on rehabilitation, reprogramming, and reintegration with their families, but under such uncertain and uncomfortable rules and gross misuses of power its not surprising many families are unable or unwilling to even attempt visiting their loved one. Can you imagine being separated from your family and friends for years at a time? I know what you're thinking, "Don't do the crime if you cant serve the time" right? Well I used to see things from that same perspective until I learned the reality of how many inmates are wrongly convicted and sentenced heavily because they do not have a good lawyer. Regardless of what gets a person into prison, the time they spend paying their debt to society should not be a time of ruthless treatment and abuse.

The more trauma we inflict on an already wounded psyche, the less chance that person has of ever being able to successfully reintegrate into society. The abuse taking place in the prisons is comparable to locking someone up or binding them to prevent them from moving and beating them repeatedly and expecting they will never lash out- completely unrealistic. Humans are going to do what they have to do to survive so why not create an environment that allows for growth and change rather than an almost inescapable cycle of mental abuse, psychological warfare, and isolation which has its own crazy making effects.

Now if we consider that many if not all inmates reintegrating into society are unwell mentally due to the abusive nature of the system how can we just throw them back into the world with little support and expect them to thrive? There are so many talented and amazing souls serving time and with the right tools I believe whole heartedly they could come out of the situation and be an asset in the world rather than an outcast.

We have to allow people to grow, evolve, and change. We have to allow people to break out of the cycles that aren't working for them, and we have to treat inmates as human beings with rights and feelings, and emotions. We need to build a system of compassion and understanding that seeks truth not justice and supports rehabilitation not recidivism.

I write this as a person who has CPTSD partially due to things I experienced as a visitor and as a human being who called out for help from the PD, the State of Il, and the Court system and got no where. I am a person who was discarded and ignored. I am a person who they thought would sit down quietly and die, or drift away into insanity.

Call me crazy if you want, but I'm speaking truth.

Artificial Intelligence is the future and I believe the prison system would benefit as much- if not more than the Healthcare system and the Educational systems with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence and reprogramming therapies.

You cannot manipulate a computer. They lack emotion which is what is needed to treat each inmate/ patient/ child equally. All humans judge. We try our hardest not to but we do it subconsciously. A.I. is objective, it cuts out the possibilities of biased unfair treatment and replaces it with consistent and predictable behaviors and regulations.

1HeatherGee

I am not mad nor am I blaming or attacking anyone. I only want to share my observations and opinions with the intention of helping to make the world a better, more beautiful place for us all.