[denton]

Val, I used to have a church assignment that took me to the Nevada State Prison a couple of times a month. When I was done with it, it was all I could do to calmly stroll to the gate. Man, I hated that place... and I knew that they were going to let me out when I decided to go.

One part of the prison population is just plain dumb. There are a LOT of 85 IQ's in that place.

Another part of the prison population is meaner than the proverbial junkyard dog.

A surprising number of the inmates are both dumb and mean.

Now there were also a few people who had made mistakes, and were making their way back, which is very admirable, especially considering the environment they were in.

Most of them have brains that are simply not wired like yours. You make the connection between honest labor, self worth, self improvement, and being a contributing member of society. Don't expect that from the general prison population.

Most of us behave because we have an internal moral compass. A good share of prison inmates have no such thing, and will do anything they think they can get away with. They behave as well as they do, because they are afraid of consequences. They do not care in the slightest what their actions do to you.

The ones that come out of prison better than they went in are the minority, and have my admiration. If we're trying to prevent recidivism, I think we're doing it all wrong.