The article Michael Winerip and I wrote this week about the death of an inmate at Fishkill Correctional Facility had a huge following on social media. For a while on Tuesday it was the top item on the Reddit home page, which I’m told is a very big deal. It was another indication of how closely people pay attention to criminal justice issues these days.  On Reddit, where an initial post about the article received over 2,000 comments, I was impressed by how nuanced and thoughtful many of the responses were. Some expressed outrage, while others suggested that the abuse we documented was, and should be, part of the prison experience.  One commenter wrote: “People need to ask what they want out of prison system. I say the question should be how to maximize rehabilitation and maximize the number of productive citizens that come out. Not how can I get revenge on people.”  Several commenters identified themselves as former inmates.  “I recently did a year in prison in GA and this kind of thing happens a lot. They would routinely pick out a person to beat up during intake to make an example of.”  Other commenters said they worked as correction officers:  “As a CA corrections officer for 17 years, yes this is way too much excessive force (“guards” LMFAO!!), and I hope that the justice system gives them true judgment, but not all officers are knuckle draggers ... a lot of you have never set foot inside a prison or jail and have never experienced the dangers we face every day.”  I pressed this commenter for more information about the job.  “I currently work in a Mental Health housing unit with 150 inmates that all have mental issues ... yes I am more than qualified (17 years all with mental health) to deal with a inmate dealing with a mental breakdown if that you want to call it ... I have used verbal commands and persuasion to talk inmates down and used only enough force to gain compliance of a lawful order to submit to handcuffs ... I have been assaulted about 25 times because an inmate just was not going to comply ... period ... broken bones and sprains.”  On Wednesday, I held a Reddit AMA, answering questions about our reporting and issues of crime and punishment in general. I was asked about my thoughts on the death penalty and mandatory minimum sentences. I explained how we reported the story and what challenges we faced.  Many wondered what could be done to draw more attention to the problems in the country’s prisons, though had trouble coming up with ideas for solutions.  “In America, it’s virtually impossible to get voters at-large to sympathize with prisoners, one commenter said. ”To large chunks of the population, once you run into trouble with the law, you’re no longer worthy of human dignity, and voters would rather not worry about you — out of sight, out of mind.”
Michael Schwirtz describes the Reddit response to a story he and another reporter, Michael Winerip, wrote about the death of a prison inmate.