Prison Misconceptions Dispelled

 I find it easy to understand why the public has negative opinions and beliefs about prisons, often thinking that prisoners have it too easy. After all, people in prison are generally guilty of having committed crimes, so why should we have it easy? However, many of the public's opinions about prisons are based on misconceptions. 

Some of the misconceptions I've heard include that prisoners are given free TV, free weight and exercise equipment, we eat three square meals a day, and we have free healthcare. If I were still a taxpayer, I'd have these concerns too, especially since Michigan's corrections budget is over $2 billion per year. 

So, let me clear up these few misconceptions. 

Michigan prisoners do have access to cable television. We have a basic program package with around 60 channels. None of these channels are premium channels. But taxpayers do not pay for our cable television. Prisoners must purchase their own TVs, and the cable is paid for by the Prisoner Benefit Fund. 

The Prisoner Benefit Fund (PBF) is funded through a percentage of commissary purchases and through fundraisers. When prisoners want to purchase food or hygiene items from commissary, we pay inflated prices because of the percentage that funds the PBF. Periodic fundraisers are sometimes offered for prisoners to purchase other food items (like ice cream) at inflated prices. A percentage of these purchases also fund the PBF. The PBF funds then pay for our cable television (and movies we may be allowed to see), for our weight pit and workout equipment, and occasionally for other items (like providing water for our visitors during Covid-19 restrictions). 

Michigan prisons do not give prisoners free hygiene items, except for toilet paper and sometimes bars of hand soap. Some prisoners, who have been deemed "indigent," are provided loans of around $11 per month to purchase necessities. They must then repay these loans, either when they get a job in prison or upon release. 

Despite the fact that commissary prices have continued to rise every year (sometimes multiple times per year), Michigan prisoners have not received pay raises in decades. Most prisoners who have jobs in prison make less than $30 per month. Yes, the U.S. Constitution still allows slave labor in prisons. 

Some people like to point out that prisoners are given three hots and a cot. That means, we are provided three meals a day and a place to live, rent-free. It's true, we are provided three meals a day, but prison food is not even close to healthy. It is heavy in carbohydrates (mashed potatoes, rice, and bread mainly), and what vegetables we see are usually severely overcooked, often to the point of inedible. Michigan prisoners are fed for less than $2 per day, right around the cost of a free lunch (a single meal) provided to school children in Michigan. There's nothing square about our meals. Instead, they contribute to diabetes and other health problems. And anyone who wants my "free cot" can have it.