Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

In yet another wasteful tour down the legalistic lane of the US system, we see an alarming yet not too uncommon use of our tax payer dollars.  A Wisconsin inmate was forced to sleep on a mattress that had mold on it.  Following a prison riot, yes you read that correct, A RIOT.  In case anyone forgot, a riot is typically categorized in a prison setting as being a uprising of the prison population in attempt to disturb order or overthrow the guards in order.  Following this spat, our nice inmate was placed in a segregation unit.  Yet another unit meant to separate inmates that cause trouble from the general population and bring order back to the prison.  Yes, in that unit - this prisoner was forced to sleep on a moldy mattress.

Now with all of this being said, our inmate is allowed to turn around - hire a lawyer and then sue the system for what amounted to 60 days in these conditions.  Those 60 days were declared by the jury as not meeting ” the minimal civilized measure of life necessities”.  Placing a dollar amount on the suit, the inmate is awarded $295,000 for the 60 days that he spent in those conditions.

60 days is worth nearly 300k.  Wow, I need a job like that.  That is nearly 1.8 million for the year.  How does one arrive at that number?  Think of all the people that live in situations that are well below the standards that this inmate was exposed to.  People that live on the street or 20 people to home due to poverty.  None of these people are welcomed with a 300k check in their mailbox.  And most of them are innocent of the transgressions that landed this inmate in prison, much less the continued behavior that made this inmate the central part of a prison uprising. 

America is a great country but to protect the liberties that made this country strong, we need to maintain a sense of internal order and balance that does not allow those that break the law to benefit from the smallest of mistakes.  I am not saying what the prison did was right, but to award someone nearly 300k for the short term circumstances is ridiculous.  That money could be spent so much more wisely.  But then, this inmate needs the American Dream.  Looks like we just paid for it.