Students please each question below. Please use correct grammar and be sure to use examples. These responses will be evaluated for a grade based on the quality of your response.
What was your overall impression of today's experience? (interesting, something you
learned, something that you would tell others if they asked about your trip.)
"The best way to judge a society is to look at how it treats its prisoners." What do you think
this quotation means and do you agree with it? Explain. Based on your experience today,
what conclusions could be made about Evansville?
Trip evaluation. Was this a worthwhile trip and should the Academy continue to visit the
Vanderburgh County Confinement Center? Explain.
Welcome to the blog for the inagural class of the Randall T. Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice. Contained within you will find discussion boards, surveys, and various links to relavent sites.
It was a great experience for anyone thinking about going into any aspect of law or law enforcement, etc. I was surprised by the number of inmates at a given time, as well as the annual number of inmates. It makes you think how many criminals are in bigger counties, as well as the entire state and country. I was surprised that there wasn't a larger average number of fights per day. I figured there would be tons of fights among the "high risk" inmates.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the quote. The inmates seemed to be treated very well at the jail. They seemed content with their surroundings. Evansville is an overall good society, even though we do have so many criminals. If we treat them like this while they're in jail, then maybe they can better their lives when they get out.
It was a worthwhile trip. I think that most of us didn't expect it to be so calm of a place. We should continue to visit to see how things progress, as well as to learn more about the adjudication system.
I thought today was not only extremely enjoyable, but also very benificial. I learned many things today, that I had no knowledge of before this field trip. I honestly thought that a jail only held fifty people at a time. I had no idea that they could hold a max of 750 people! To me that was just unreal how the sheriff and his staff could control seven hundred possible crimminals. What I would tell other people about this fieldtrip, is that they should definately take a tour there sometime, it helps you respect the job of a sheriff much more. Concerning the quotation, I definately agree with it. An advanced, mature, and civilized society knows how to treat their prisoners like normal human beings, and not like they are animals. If you have a society that doesn't care about their prisoners, that reflects alot on their character. Judging by what i've seen today, do to the fact that we treat our prisoners with so much respect, this shows that we are a very civilized and well-ran society. This was a very worth while trip, and I do think it is a trip that needs to be made every year to come. It not only educated me on how the jail works, but it also showed me that it is somewhere I would never want to be. It makes you realize the fate you have due to bad decision making.
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ReplyDeleteI feel that this quote, regarding how a society is reflected on its treatment of prisoners, is a very true statement. A society should hold an utmost respect for all people. Prison should not be a place of inhumane acts of cruel punishment. Prisons are in place to better society by depriving the freedom of those who do not follow the law. Not only do prisons hold criminals accountable, but they also provide safety for the citizens by isolating them from the criminals. Although I was not able to attend the tour of the Evansville jail, I do know that it is a positive reflection of our society.
ReplyDeletei learned that i don't want to go to jail. that if you treat the prisoners good then you treat the people good because they used to be citizens too. that Evansville treats the people good. i thought that the trip was good ad that we should go again
ReplyDeleteToday was an extremely interesting day, I really enjoyed going to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center. The sheriff taught us a lot about the processes that go on in the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center. I thought it was exciting when we got the chance to go inside one of the cells. It was almost creepy when we were inside the cell though, because you never know when the security system might fail and the doors just pop open.
ReplyDeleteI found the quote that the sheriff said to be true, because people will give respect if you give them respect. I think it means that if you want a good community you need to help make it that way. I believe that Evansville is a good community, because the prisoners are treated nice and with respect, so when they are released they will have more respect.
This was a very worthwhile trip, I think that the Academy should continue to go to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center.
I don't think anyone can argue that the trip was more than worthwhile and that Sheriff Williams was very knowledgeable about his profession. He did a great job of passing that information on to us, as we learned a surprising amount about a plethora of topics. The trip was a great precursor to anyone interested in entering law enforcement, and also gave future lawyers and social advocates a fresh, unfiltered view of the adjudication system. All future Academy classes should absolutely take this trip, and be ready to ask a lot of questions. One thing that I found amazing was the system the Confinement Center used for monitoring inmates. I was amazed that one guard sat with 64 inmates all day, everyday. At first glance this seems like a dangerous and unpredictable arrangement, but in fact this method works impressively well. I was very encouraged to learn the center was able to ensure so many safeguards while still maintaining the inmates' freedoms. After really looking into the quotation, it means a lot to me. When a society is able to treat it's delinquent members with absolute fairness and respect, you can tell that it has advanced to a very high level. It is easy for any society to treat it's elite members well, but when it is able to look past a prisoner’s wrongdoings or perceived wrongdoings and ensure that human rights are essential for everyone, it is ensuring its own success and survival.
ReplyDeleteIt was an awesome experience. I had so much fun learning about what goes on and how they run the jail. If you treat the inmates with respect, you will most likely get it back. The trip was most definitely worthwhile and i think we should continue visiting the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it was a great trip. I learned a lot about what goes on in our jail and a lot more of the Sheriff's duties. While I had never really thought of the quote that way it honestly comes off as truth to me. Williams said that our jail had cost around 40 million to build, which shows that the city wanted for our people (although inmates) to have nice facilities and have the ability to live comfortably for a prisons standards. The main thing though that Sheriff Williams said that that stuck with me was if you treat the people with respect they will respect you back.
ReplyDeletei thought it was interesting that one guard was with 64 inmates. i would be too scared to do that. If you treat the inmates good, they will treat you the same. Yes I thought it was worthwhile and we should visit more.
ReplyDeleteSomething interesting that I learned is that most people if not all of them haven't even been convicted yet. I think that you can tell that Evansville wants to help their people not punish them. We want them to do whats right and make the right decisions. We don't want to keep them in jail forever, we want them back with their families as soon as possible. I do believe you can tell how Evansville is by how we treat our prisoners. We don't treat them as prisoners, we treat them as people who just need some extra help. We keep them comfortable, they have fresh air, and They get help they need to get on the right track. I really enjoyed this field trip, It taught me that jail isn't as bad as they make it sound, but I would never want to be there.
ReplyDeleteI thought the trip was fun and a great learning experience. I thought how much money they spend a year was crazy! I think jail is jail and I don't know what to think about it, but I do know that Evansville is a great town/ city and it treats its residence well. I think it was a worth while trip and I think we should continue to visit places like it.
ReplyDeleteI personally thought the trip was great, I think it was very eye-opening. I think it's interesting that even though the inmates are in jail for a crime, they can still earn back their trust and respect during their time spent in the jail. I think the lesson says a lot about what we as a county think of our prisoners. I agree with the Sheriff when he explained that just because these people did something wrong to get themselves in here, it doesn't mean they aren't people of our socitey. The people who get put in jail are mothers, fathers, children, etc., and they deserve to be treated as humans. The jail was very organized, clean, and respectable. I think it's a great representation of what we think of our prisoners.
ReplyDeleteI thought the trip was great, every aspect of it was interesting. Understanding how a jail works like a small city, and learning about the complications that come along with running such a large establishment, the trip was very successful. It would be great it we went back to visit some other time, and maybe see parts of the jail we didn't have time to see on our first trip. I don't think anyone would be against going back, especially me. It was a very eye-opening expirience.
I thought it was a great expirence I think it made some people realize that cops aren't always the bad guys they have a job just like all of our parents they take pide in thier jobs. Visiting the jail made me realize, 'hey i never want to come face to face with crime therefore i wouldnt have to serve any time''.
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ReplyDeleteI thought that the trip was a great experience. I thought it was very interesting to have a unfiltered view of a jail and compare it to what I have seen on television and movies. I think that Sheriff Williams did a great job answering our questions and taking us on a tour.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote "The best way to judge a society is to look at how it treats its prisoners." because it has so much truth to it the fact is that prisoners are considered to be at the bottom of our society. So if people at the bottom of our society gets three whole meals a day, a place to sleep, and shelter over their heads, and even recreation. I think it constitutes a lot to be able to say that we treat our prisoners better than a lot of countries treat their own citizens.
From this I would judge that Evansville is a well functioning society and compassionate. I think this trip was well worth while because for us to understand all the aspects of our legal system from the court rooms to the inside of a jail cell is important. I think that the Randall T. Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice should continue to visit the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center and also other confinement centers, to allow us to compare and contrast them and give us insight into the different ways detainees are handled.
I thought the trip was very interesting because the Jail was alot different than I expected. I think that even though some of those inmates are innocent, we still look at them as criminals the minute they are thrown in the jail. We judge them much too harshly, just because of the image that the jail gives them. I think we can tell alot about Evansville by how we treat our prisoners. We treat them as well as any human being so I believe Evansville is a fair city. This trip was really cool and worthwhile. The jail is alot better than I expected it to be, but I still like life better on the other side of the gate.
ReplyDeleteMy overall thought of visiting the jail was that it is a place i would never want to find my self in. I found it to be a very insightful and informative exsperience. I learned that being in jail is what you make of it. If you have good behavior and do everything you are told, it can go by faster for you and not any more uncomfortable than need be. If someone were to ask me about my trip i would tell them that jail is a place of rehabilitation and a time for thinking about what you did, and how you can learn from your mistakes and be a better person. I personally agree with the quote, because prisoners are people too; their decisions just were not the best. How we treat them reflects on our society as a whole. I think that Evansville is a place that cares about there inmates, considering the way our prison looks and having an insight on how well it is run. I feel that the trip was worth it , and we should continue to visit to see how it keeps improving and getting better.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed going to the jail yesterday. It was interesting to learn how our jail worked and how many people were in there. I agree with the quotation, "The best way to judge a society is to look at how they treat their prisoners." If a society treats their prisoners disrespectfully, or if the jail is dirty then that obviously means that they don't really care about their citizens. Evansville's jail reflects the fact that we do care about our citizens. This trip was definitely worthwhile and I would enjoy going back one day.
ReplyDeleteThe Jail... It was an interesting place to see. It was a fun trip, but I know for a fact now, The Jail is not where I want to be. I don't plan on ever going to jail. The Vanderburgh County Confinement Center is, and will continue to be a “eye opener” for the youth in the city. I think after the trip everyone realized jail is not a place where they want to be. The Jail was nice but not nice enough. When you have people telling you when you can do something, how you can do it, and where you can do it, its not nice at all. When you go to jail your freedom is taken away. I like being able to do what I want to do whenever I want to do it, and I don't want that taken away.
ReplyDelete"The best way to judge a society is to look at how it treats its prisoners." I could tell our society treats prisoners with respect. The Jail is kept clean, and well managed. I do think the Law Academy should continue to visit The Confinement Center, it will be a learning experience fore everyone. I learned if you go to jail, “It's better to walk through the front door, than the side door.”
-I thought the jail tour was very interesting. I liked seeing the processes of the jail and what they go through with the sickness and things during the inmates jail sentence.
ReplyDelete-I guess this quote could be true because if a society truly mistreats their prisoners they would probably do it to the everyday people too. When a person has to be in jail, they need to be treated right in order to be helped and to hopefully turn their lives around. I think the jail in Evansville treats the prisoner well and I do believe it could help people to turn their lives around.
-I loved the trip to the jail. I thought it was very interesting and I would love to go back. So the Academy should continue to visit the Confinement Center. I think the trip was very informative.
I not only thought that was the visit to the jail was very enlightening, I also believed that is it something that will help me in the future. Even though I do not plan on becoming involved with law enforcement, learning the process of how things are dealt with was very beneficial. To me, learning how the prisoners are dealt will help me in my future, as I believe I would like to become a lawyer. It was nice to get to meet Sheriff Williams and learn how he represents our community very well. I would also like to thank Mrs. Coy and Mr. Fetscher for allowing us to have these opportunities.
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