In your anger (choose another word if that’s not the right one) you condemn all prisoners with a horrific description of their nature – in doing this you have anointed yourself an all knowing God who can describe the nature of an entire group of people. This is the mode of thinking that gives rise to racism and all of the horrors it has lead to around the world.

You maintain these folks are not Buddhists; in saying so you demonstrate the same thought process that allows you to condemn all inmates as humans without any redeeming qualities.

By the way, I am not a Buddhist, I came to this website while seeking information on meditation – which is an activity which western medical practice has demonstrated to have positive psychological and physical benefits to its practitioners.

Finally, I just like to express the opinion that your wish that all inmates suffer in prison is ill advised for practical reasons – nationally, 95% of all inmates are released back to our communities. Individuals like yourself who so strongly support inmates suffering in prison is why we have such a high repeat offense rate in the U.S. What every inmate needs (yes, the child rapist, the murderer, drug dealer, etc) is help. The fact that they are in prison means society has done has you wished – judgement has been passed and the nicest prison setting is still a terrible experience. The people are being punished, as you wish by virtue of the fact that they are in prison. Lets apply rational thought and do all we can to rehabilitate them so when 95 out of 100 are released back to your neighborhood they don’t go and murder you grandmother (or Mom, or child or you).
Respectively,ray

You seem be be regarding the work we do as some kind of reward for people who have committed crimes. I don’t see it that way myself. People are capable of change, and we help give people access to tools, like meditation, that can help them become better people. These tools promote impulse control, which helps people to get out of the habit of doing stupid, impulsive, and harmful things. They also promote self-awareness and empathy, so that criminals who have harmed others can begin to feel genuine remorse for their victims. That’s a painful process to go through, and not a “reward” in any ordinary sense. And most criminals are going to get out of prison, so you’d better hope they change. In the absence of self-awareness, many inmates become worse criminals than when they went in.

I don’t know if you’ve ever visited a prison, but the idea that “these are wretched people with nothing to offer society but a reminder of the evils of which human beings are capable” applies to very few inmates. There are certainly some people who are psychotic, incapable of remorse or empathy, and beyond change, but the overwhelming sense you get while meeting the vast majority of inmates is how ordinary they are. Many in fact do come out of prison and contribute to society.

Incidentally, in regard to the pain you’re giving expression to, you might want to consider the wise words of Esther Lederer, who said “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.” It’s not possible to experience hatred and love at the same time, and every moment you hate your grandfather’s murderer is one in which you’re not loving your grandfather. I feel saddened thinking of you wasting your mental energy in this way, and hope that you can find peace.