El crimen

“El sujeto Criminal, Crimen, y Criminalidad”:
I had the honor of Reading this book from Dr. Joel Villa..
In the beginning chapters of this book “El sujeto Criminal, Crimen, y Criminalidad” we begin to understand and or picture what penal institutions were like back in the day, typically what they were used for. It describes how offenders were received and how they were treated once insideprison walls. Some institutions had silence punishments, others would get beat physically, and although the psychological effects were not present, that above anything was always present in an offender. Being in a prison is literally a struggle for survival. It clearly states how inside prison walls, you have to choose sides. For example, becoming part of some type of gang in this case the ~etaswhose requirements consist of the following: 1- No snitching or you will die 2- You will not kill on contract 3- You will not use a sharp edged weapon on a member associated with ~eta, 4- You will not look at a members woman/wife, 5- No stealing/robbing, 6- No killing based on abuse, 7- No fighting with a member always remember he`s a brother, 8- No instigating a member, 9- You shall not pay mind toothers conversations, 10- You shall not abuse or attempt against an elder, children, nor the handicap, 11- On visits you shall worry about your own and not the visits of a member. This gang has been one of the largest within Puerto Rican prisons .
Also, I was able to better understand prison life. To know they find the way to cause harm any possible way they can to one another is anotherexample of how dangerous it could be in prison. Many ways to cause harm to other inmates include: creating weapons from anything around you such as aluminum in windows, poles, fans, etc. Riots play a big role in the prison world. In many prisons in Puerto Rico the cause for many of its riots, is the search of weapons, and drugs. The result of a riot, are many injured, others become hostages to theinmates who are beat and tortured, others end up in medical facilities, and others even die.
The book mentions the idea of considering “normalization or decriminalization” of drugs such as marijuana. To some point that sounds like a good alternative. However, if we start by normalizing and decriminalizing marijuana sooner or later it would have to be done with all the other illegal drugs to date.That may mean more addicts on the street, more robberies more crimes. Normalizing and decriminalizing does not mean its free, so finding the means to purchase is still an issue. On the other hand the situation contradicts itself because at one point alcohol was also illegal and now it is legal with restrictions. As we know as far as in Puerto Rico many addicts don’t hide to do what they do. Theylose self respect and the respect for others and worry only about themselves. They clearly express with their actions that they don’t care about being seen or getting caught and being sent to jail. In the event that in the long run this issue is normalized and decriminalized and for whatever reason it does not turn out like many expect, how are things going to be dealt with? How are things going tobe taken back to how they were? Yes, indeed like the book states addicted individuals are in of need psychological, mental, and social assistance, so why does the government in a free of charge manner try assisting these people in these ways? This could definitely be a start.
Perhaps, I feel more negative than positive on viewing this as an alternative being that someone close to me becameaddicted to heroine, cocaine, and methadone. I saw how this persons life changed quickly in a matter of months and was no longer himself. He has tried every method of consumption, whether injecting, snorting etc and has attempted rehab centers many times and never achieves rehab. No one knows how else to help anymore and have turned their backs on him. Therefore, after all this damage how could I be...