Prison Labor: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

The worst part about the "crime doesn't pay" argument is that this system teaches inmates that honest work does not pay.

"The slaves have armed themselves--" "Ooh, I don't like that word!" "Sorry, the prisoners with jobs have armed themselves." "Ok, that's better!" -Thor: Ragnorak, 2017

"They're letting the good ones out" YEAH THAT WAS THE POINT

"I let a bull trample me so that I can pay to prove my innocence" sounds like something you'd expect in a grim-dark cartoon...

“Crime doesn’t pay.” ...unless you are a giant corporation who makes millions off of the privatized U.S. prison system.

"For-profit prison system" are words that should never be used together.

The problem of periods! In the third year of medical school, I (female) and three of my male colleagues lived in a house together while we were studying at a hospital in another city. When I got my period, I put my supplies on the back of the toilet--like every other woman in the country! One of the guys, a delegate for the other two, approached me, saying the sight of tampons (in a box) made them uncomfortable. I replied, "Oh! You guys must have missed the lecture on menstruation. I'll be happy to fill you in. Half of your patients are going to menstruate. You better get used to it."

"We can't have people who served time in prison and have learnt their lesson, work in emergency services, that's dangerous. But if you're still a prisoner learning your lesson, that's fine." Common sense, right? Makes sense.

The guy that said he didnt expect to hear pads and tampons sounds like a 9 year old going in the wrong sex ed class 🤣

PRISON should not be a BUSINESS. Neither should any aspect of criminal justice.

My adopted sister’s bio dad has been in and out of jail for awhile. Before we adopted her, we would visit her dad in a halfway house and let me tell you. He looked like a totally different person. He had meat on his bones, color, he looked well rested. It was crazy, but then he got out. He couldn’t get a good job, couldn’t buy a car, he could barley afford bus fares. So he went back to what he knew got him those things, he had no other choice. Now I’m not saying her dad was a good man, I don’t like him, but now he is back in prison for a long time. He could’ve been an upstanding citizen, he could’ve had a relationship with my sister, but he was failed by a system that doesn’t believe in second chances.

The “convict poker” shocks me every time I see it. It’s literally just the gladiator games in the colosseum all over again. Putting prisoners in life threatening situations for the general public’s amusement. The extent to which people dehumanize people in prison is nauseating.

“Inmate Rodeos”? That’s just a Roman coliseum with extra steps

Crime doesn't pay, unless you're a big business who gets a slap-on-the-wrist fine for misdeeds.

As a guy from the UK, this is how I see the US court system: - A poor black person has a broken light on his car. - He is sent a fine of $100 he cannot afford - He is sent to jail for not paying - He cannot afford $250 for bail = FREE/CHEAP LABOUR - Repeat a few million times.

As an ex-con and actual ESL teacher, I appreciate your words. I was locked up for selling weed. 4 and a half years. And it was hell in my prisons. Yes, plural. I was in 5 different prisons. The first was Joliet before it was closed and turned into a museum an film site for Prison Break.

Is it just me or did, "Convict poker" look a lot like, throwing lions at Prisoners in front of a crowd at the Roman Colosseum?

Saying “crime doesn’t pay” is disingenuous at best. The multi-billion dollar private prison industry is your proof that is does indeed “pay” just not the “criminals”.

Anyone else binge watching last week tonight and just marveling at the amazing in detail journalism John and his team provide weekly

“Dodge bull” didn’t get enough of a laugh. 😹