Prison Beds - Watching "Lockup" on MSNBC

[BolianAuthor]

Okay... so I'm watching "Lockup" on MSNBC, and they are talking about how death row inmates at San Quentin prison can use parts of their bedspring to construct a shank, and use it as a weapon. Now... this brought a question to my mind...

These are prisoners... on death row, mind you. So why the heck can't prisons use inflatable beds? Nobody can make a weapon out of a balloon, and if the inmate were to deflate his bed, he won't have a bed... simple as that. But you can get an inflatable bed for as little as $11.00.

Now, granted, IDK how the whole pricing of prison beds works, but the cost of beds in a single-cell prison that can house 1356 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections is $29498.00. Compare that to the price of 1356 $11.00 inflatable beds, and you get a figure of $14916.00... that's quite a bit cheaper!

I mean, I'm really surprised at how simple things like this are not considered, to cut down on prison violence, as well as operating costs. Do I have it all wrong, or what? I'm trying to understand this.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Death row inmates in Florida are in the general population? Doesn't that concern anyone? These are people with literally nothing left to live for barring some miracle of a procedural error at trial that was so horrifying that a Judge will stay their execution. They have no incentive not to abuse, bully, or kill other inmates if it is to their benefit.

But, anyway, to answer your question. Inflatable beds are not durable in the slightest. They'd have to be replaced constantly. The costs would far exceed that of the crappy beds they use currently.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Why not just use a mattress without a boxspring or a frame?

 

[RobertVA]

It wasn't very long ago a city in Arizona had trouble with the prisoners setting their mattresses on fire, so they took the remaining mattresses away and made the prisoners sleep on the shelf like steel supports. They've since built a new jail and built a museum around the old jail. The old cell block is now an exibit in the museum. There were few parts of that tiny cell block that weren't made of steel, walls, ceiling, floors etc.

 

[Flashover]

Ok then. Foam mattresses then.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

It wasn't very long ago a city in Arizona had trouble with the prisoners setting their mattresses on fire, so they took the remaining mattresses away and made the prisoners sleep on the shelf like steel supports. They've since built a new jail and built a museum around the old jail. The old cell block is now an exibit in the museum. There were few parts of that tiny cell block that weren't made of steel, walls, ceiling, floors etc.

You ever sat on a steel toilet? That thing's fucking cold.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Inflatable beds are really uncomfortable (and I think probably unhealthy) in the long run. No need to torture prisoners unneccessarily. Although there are probably good beds without any metal parts too I guess.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Okay... so I'm watching "Lockup" on MSNBC, and they are talking about how death row inmates at San Quentin prison can use parts of their bedspring to construct a shank, and use it as a weapon. Now... this brought a question to my mind...

These are prisoners... on death row, mind you. So why the heck can't prisons use inflatable beds? Nobody can make a weapon out of a balloon, and if the inmate were to deflate his bed, he won't have a bed... simple as that. But you can get an inflatable bed for as little as $11.00.

Now, granted, IDK how the whole pricing of prison beds works, but the cost of beds in a single-cell prison that can house 1356 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections is $29498.00. Compare that to the price of 1356 $11.00 inflatable beds, and you get a figure of $14916.00... that's quite a bit cheaper!

I mean, I'm really surprised at how simple things like this are not considered, to cut down on prison violence, as well as operating costs. Do I have it all wrong, or what? I'm trying to understand this.

No, you don't have it wrong. There are relatively indestructible, fire-proof mattresses sold specifically for use in correctional facilities. And they're placed on a solid metal or concrete bunk or shelf or whatever. They can't be turned into weapons, and they can't be cut open to hide weapons.

I don't think I've ever seen bedsprings in a jail or prison. Maybe in minimum security. But, then, I'm familiar w/ the facilities in only one state.

Death row inmates in Florida are in the general population?

No, they aren't. San Quentin is in California. The OP is talking about death row in CA, and the cost of prison beds in FL.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

OK, it was late, so I sort of blended those two together. Should have caught San Quentin. But is it true in CA about death row inmates and the general population?

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^Not that I know of. I'm confused: What makes you think CA death row inmates are in general pop?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It was how I read the original post. Re-reading it, I suppose they could be shanking other death row inmates.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Or staff.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Okay... so I'm watching "Lockup" on MSNBC, and they are talking about how death row inmates at San Quentin prison can use parts of their bedspring to construct a shank, and use it as a weapon. Now... this brought a question to my mind...

These are prisoners... on death row, mind you. So why the heck can't prisons use inflatable beds? Nobody can make a weapon out of a balloon, and if the inmate were to deflate his bed, he won't have a bed... simple as that. But you can get an inflatable bed for as little as $11.00.

Now, granted, IDK how the whole pricing of prison beds works, but the cost of beds in a single-cell prison that can house 1356 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections is $29498.00. Compare that to the price of 1356 $11.00 inflatable beds, and you get a figure of $14916.00... that's quite a bit cheaper!

I mean, I'm really surprised at how simple things like this are not considered, to cut down on prison violence, as well as operating costs. Do I have it all wrong, or what? I'm trying to understand this.

You also got to factor in the costs:

Personnel to spen time unpacking and inflating hte beds.

Air machines to inflate the beds (how many depends on how quickly it needs to be done).

And the cost of electricity to run the machines.



But in the end ... aren't they just shanking other inmates?
Implement the Innocence Project as a standard across all jails, and that way only guilty people get shanked.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Guilty of what, though? Are you saying anyone deserves to get murdered if they've committed some crime?

 

[tharpdevenport]

If you're on Death Row, yeah. You're not there for the prison food.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

But in the end ... aren't they just shanking other inmates?

No, they're also attacking the staff.

 

[BolianAuthor]

^

Yeah, that was part of why they were talking about it... they were discussing how every day, prison staff is threatened with violence and more by the death row inmates, and that the weapons are often used against the guards.

 

[Holdfast]

But, anyway, to answer your question. Inflatable beds are not durable in the slightest. They'd have to be replaced constantly. The costs would far exceed that of the crappy beds they use currently.

Exactly. And it's not just a durability question in terms of normal wear-and-tear. Inflatable beds strike me as one of the first things to get punctured by a bored inmate. Even the ones they DO currently use have really short life-spans due to abuse; inflatables wouldn't last a second.

To back up Tora Ziyal's comment upthread: I'm also surprised to see mention of bedsprings. In the UK, both police cell and prison cell mattresses are solid foam (at least in every custody area I've been in, and the couple of prisons I've visited); no springs at all.

I would assume the USA operates similarly, especially anywhere there might be suicide or assault risks.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^

Yeah, that was part of why they were talking about it... they were discussing how every day, prison staff is threatened with violence and more by the death row inmates, and that the weapons are often used against the guards.

You got me interested, so I looked around a bit on-line... Apparently there's a controversial plan to build an expensive new death row unit at San Quentin, because the current one is so poorly designed (from a security perspective). Of course, there's no such thing as an inexpensive new high-security facility.

 

[trekkiedane]

Nobody can make a weapon out of a balloon

Actually, all you need to make a sheet of plastic (any baggie will do) into an object solid enough to stab someone with is a bit of heat, loads of time and the will to do so