Activists are into the idea of allowing not just inmate phone calls, but also Internet connections for inmates. This is something that makes some jailers nervous about the security risks that this could pose, but activists insist that this is something that can help with the rehabilitation process.
Everyone who is not behind bars takes an Internet connection for granted. Most of us hop on our favorite social networks and look at what our friends and family are doing. However, those who are in prison don’t have the ability to do this.
Aside from a handful of juvenile facilities, there is no Internet access at all for the more than 2 million Americans who are behind bars.
There are even instances when the family of an inmate may use the Internet against that person by posting on their behalf. After all, there are specific rules about what an imprisoned person may or may not post. Families have been known to post on behalf of the inmate to harass the victims of their crimes. When that happens, the person behind bars may get in more trouble than they otherwise would have.
However, there are groups that are now pushing to allow inmates to have access to the Internet. They are saying that in a world that is increasingly defined by the Internet, it is reasonable for even inmates to have access to the Internet. They want to see inmates treated with the respect of being able to access the Internet when they need to.
The lack of access to the Internet is concerning to many advocates because they say that it makes it harder for inmates to report on conditions within the prison. This means that instances of abuse by the jailers are often not reported at all, or at least not as quickly as they would have been reported if inmates had access to the Internet.
This is an issue that is being taken up by specialty groups within the prison activist movement. It is not something that has been given top priority for many activists as they prefer to focus on things like making sure there is basic healthcare access and other issues of human dignity within the prison.
However, some groups are starting to look at the issue of Internet access more closely than they did before. If they can work on getting that access to the people who need it, then they can start to focus on other issues that are also pressing and important to the activists.
Some inmates are already starting to receive the Internet connection that they need to stay in touch with their family. Some are using this medium to stay in touch with their family. One individual, Ryan Baxter, is serving a 10-year sentence in North Dakota on drug-related charges. He has a tablet that is connected to the Internet.
Baxter is NOT free to surf the Internet like the rest of us and go on any site that he wants. Instead, his tablet has a limited number of connections for things that he can get on. He uses his laptop primarily to access his e-mail so he can stay in touch with his family. He e-mails them regularly. They are able to come and see him from time to time in person, but he mainly uses the tablet to keep in touch with them in between those visits.
The inmate says that he is able to get some of his thoughts off of his mind when he reaches out to his family. He says that it is a great way to get out of a depressive state or to simply get some thoughts off of his mind and allow himself to experience the human connection that he needs to get through the day.
This is something that has helped Ryan Baxter and countless other inmates to experience the outside world to some extent without having to actually being out in the world.
There are some security concerns about allowing inmates to have access to the Internet behind bars. Some have used it to get around restrictions placed on their access. They have even published information on the Internet that they were not supposed to at times. Indeed, some jailers are concerned that inmates will use the Internet to publish messages that get out to other people and direct them to commit crimes. If someone in the prison is able to communicate with people on the outside and direct them to commit crimes, then it could be a severe security issue for the jail.
The debate over allowing Internet access to inmates or not will continue to rage on. It is a debate that has been occurring for some time, and it will likely carry on far into the future. We all need to think about where we stand on this issue and what we can do about it.