Government ends ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

"A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales has been reversed after a campaign by rock stars including Billy Bragg and Johnny Marr."

First of all, steel strings, in a prison, could be easily turned into a weapon

Secondly, since when were prisons actually meant to be nice places to go to?!

"As an incentive to engage in rehabilitation individual access to steel strung guitars can really help the atmosphere on a prison wing," the musician said."

Herr Tubthumper · Jul 29, 2014

Makes sense. Well done to all involved.

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

Mustafa said:
We believe in rehabilitation in this country, which is really something to be proud of. I would imagine music is a great way of rehabilitating people (except maybe rap!), so this seems like a good decision.

Why should we give prisoners benefits when they have broken the law, seems wrong

dingodan · Jul 29, 2014

When somebody is sent to prison they are deprived of their liberty. That is their punishment.

To want the experience that a person has in prison to be unpleasant is a desire for vengeance rather than justice. We treat bad people as human beings, because they are bad people, not us.

shaolinpunk · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
Why should we give prisoners benefits when they have broken the law, seems wrong

If there's no chance to develop new skills and mature while in prison, there's only one thing that will happen when the sentence is over; reoffending.

seagullsovergrimsby · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
"A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales has been reversed after a campaign by rock stars including Billy Bragg and Johnny Marr."

First of all, steel strings, in a prison, could be easily turned into a weapon

Secondly, since when were prisons actually meant to be nice places to go to?!

"As an incentive to engage in rehabilitation individual access to steel strung guitars can really help the atmosphere on a prison wing," the musician said."

My money is on 6 weeks after the ban is lifted when they report the first garrotting of a prisoner with the steel string from a guitar.

Tricky Dicky · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
Why should we give prisoners benefits when they have broken the law, seems wrong

What would you have them do, sit on their hands for 12 years ? There would soon be trouble if they're not kept occupied to some level. I don't imagine they're let out to do UK tours. That won't happen til Labour are in charge.

pastafarian · Jul 29, 2014

seagullsovergrimsby said:
My money is on 6 weeks after the ban is lifted when they report the first garrotting of a prisoner with the steel string from a guitar.

i can think of 2 i definitely wont lose any sleep over if this happened

Herr Tubthumper · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
Why should we give prisoners benefits when they have broken the law, seems wrong

To help rehabilitate them. Which is not only good for them but given the huge annual cost of keeping someone in jail good for tax payers as well.

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

Tricky Dicky said:
What would you have them do, sit on their hands for 12 years ? There would soon be trouble if they're not kept occupied to some level. I don't imagine they're let out to do UK tours. That won't happen til Labour are in charge.

What trouble? they are locked up in rooms (well, most of them), plus they already have open tours of the UK, prisoners from open jail always go on the run

Husty · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
Why should we give prisoners benefits when they have broken the law, seems wrong

The post you quoted answered your question very well. :facepalm:

H block · Jul 29, 2014

I'd take away their castenets I would.

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

Husty said:
The post you quoted answered your question very well.

No, not really, everyone wants to keep prisoners happy, why? Most of them changed peoples lives to end up in jail

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

Mustafa said:
There is some evil scum in prison, but a vast majority of prisoners are not intrinsically bad - they are often people who have lived difficult lives, been raised badly or simply made mistakes in life. I would imagine recreation is as important as education when rehabilitating someone, it is important for these people to learn to appreciate life, look forward to freedom and ultimately return to society as better citizens.

They should be punished for breaking the law, why waste tax payers money on giving them benefits?

Husty · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
No, not really, everyone wants to keep prisoners happy, why? Most of them changed peoples lives to end up in jail

Again, look at the post you originally quoted, answers this point very well and clearly. If it's too hard for you to work out let me know and ill provide some sarcastic, passive-aggresive hints for you.

Herr Tubthumper · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
No, not really, everyone wants to keep prisoners happy, why? Most of them changed peoples lives to end up in jail

It's not necessarily about keeping then happy. It's about rehabilitating prisoners. Once they have served their sentence they're back in society so it makes sense to try to help them go straight once they're out.

Raleigh Chopper · Jul 29, 2014

This thread is crying out for a prison/guitar pun but I am really struggling with this one.

Herr Tubthumper · Jul 29, 2014

TomandJerry said:
They should be punished for breaking the law, why waste tax payers money on giving them benefits?

The guitars are supplied by a charity so in this instance no tax payers money is wasted. But, you raise a good point. It costs tens of thousands a year, 50 I think, to lock someone up. On a purely economic basis it makes sense to try and rehabilitate prisoners.

TomandJerry · Jul 29, 2014

Herr Tubthumper said:
It's not necessarily about keeping then happy. It's about rehabilitating prisoners. Once they have served their sentence they're back in society so it makes sense to try to help them go straight once they're out.

What about re-offenders then who have been through this whole smoke screen they call rehabilitating? They still get the same benefits as when they first offended, suggesting they learned nothing the first time round.

If prisons were actually what they were originally, a scary place to go to with no benefits, not as many would want to go to jail

Norman Baker suck my lozenge · Jul 29, 2014

This is great news,hopefully a few more of the ***** will start off hiring each other,save us a fortune.

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