Prisoner not allowed to play D&D

[Starbuck_II]

So if we unjust judges... how does it make sense to punish criminals? Won't they just learn to be unjust? Bad examples in this here trial.

I mean, the Judge isn't even listening to the victim, but making up his mind based on bias alone.

 

[TylerDurden]

Who the hell cares

He is in PRISON! He should not be allowed to do anything but punch out license plates and do his time.

Why is this even a topic of discussion, maybe the way news reported it, but he is in prison and prison life is punishment!

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

They need Number 6!!

 

[Starbuck_II]

He is in PRISON! He should not be allowed to do anything but punch out license plates and do his time.

Why is this even a topic of discussion, maybe the way news reported it, but he is in prison and prison life is punishment!

Empathy requires we consider it if we were in their shoes. What do you expect him to do after 8 hrs/day of licence work (since we legally can't work a person past that except farm work).
Plus, unsocial behavior like doing nothing isn't productive for reentering society.
Or are you expect prisoners ever reentering society? Which is a major drain on tax payers money if Prison is just a storage den.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

(IANAL)
Well, no, it's not actually up to him just yet. This is a summary judgement--At this stage, he's not trying to prove his case. Instead, during summary judgment the burden of proof is on the party requesting summary judgment (in this case, the guards) to prove that there is no way a jury could reasonably find in the other party's (here, the prisoner's) favor.

Actually, this is an appeal from summary judgement. The Prison won at the summary judgement level, so the onus is on the prisoner.

 

[Mark Chance]

Actually, this is an appeal from summary judgement. The Prison won at the summary judgement level, so the onus is on the prisoner.

Not that that matters, since the judges are all anti-gaming, close-minded folks who couldn't pass freshmen level classes in college, which will only decrease the amount of empathy in the prisons, thereby causing the increase in recidivism so commonly associated with a lack of D&D.

 

[Umbran]

Or are you expect prisoners ever reentering society? Which is a major drain on tax payers money if Prison is just a storage den.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We can debate, to some depth, the legalities involved in this case, but let us be clear - ultimately, deciding the question of how prisoners should or should not be treated is not what EN World is here for.

As soon as we get to, "...taxpayer's money..." we are perforce talking politics, which just isn't appropriate for this venue. Please take such discussion to other forums more suited to them. Thanks.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not that that matters, since the judges are all anti-gaming, close-minded folks who couldn't pass freshmen level classes in college, which will only decrease the amount of empathy in the prisons, thereby causing the increase in recidivism so commonly associated with a lack of D&D.

Not all of the judges, just d% judges.

Wisconsin is kind of odd, legally speaking. In some areas, they're very no-nonsense & conservative. However, in others, they can be fairly lassaiz-faire.

Here, they're being conservative.

But again, I must point out that they're just preventing him from having the stuff in his cell. Whether he could run D&D in a controlled rec center might be another matter.

Then again, there is this oddity: he argued this case on the grounds of free speech. But playing D&D is no more free speech than any other hobby...such as reading porn.

Oddly enough, most prisons place porn on the contraband list, and porn has already won a fair number of free speech lawsuits. If a prison can make porn contraband, I can't see D&D winning on those grounds.

In addition, despite some pretty good testimony for the prisoner, the Judge had it right when he brought up Meyer v. Branker, 506 F.3d 358, 370 (4th Cir. 2007) (noting that defendant Meyer “was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons,” and that “this obsession caused ‘[him] to retreat into a fantasy world of Ninja warriors’”) as evidence that the game could cause problems in a prison setting, and that its ban had some merit.

 

[TylerDurden]

Do we know what this guy is guilty of? Prison terms require a minimum felony verdict which is usually pretty serious. I really disagree with your assertion that I must empathize with him. I am not a criminal and do not empathize with criminals.

I don't think prisoners should watch TV or listen to the radio or play cards, etc...I think they should be out working the fields. In the old days prisons were self sufficient where prisoners would raise crops and livestock to provide food for the inmates. Why do they need SOCIAL activities....let them think about the victims of thier crimes while breaking a sweat!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Simply put, many of the positions you just espoused have been- if not disproven- then seriously questioned over the many decades that people have been formally researching prison dynamics.

While there is nothing wrong with having prisoners do physical work, the studies show that unless you take efforts to rehabilitate, reform and socialize prisoners who will eventually be released, you only:

1. create an environment in which prisoners become better criminals- Crime College, as some have called it.
2. increase the danger to the prison work staff- guards, medical personnel, etc.- who have to interact with the inmates on a regular basis.
3. foster an environment that encourages abuse of authority.