John Oliver welcomes summer by reminding you that prisons are cooking people to death
"Don't act surprised, you know no fun was happening here."
TV News John Oliver
Happy summer, everybody! And happy this summer, specifically, as the waning days of pandemic lockdown beckons with warmer weather and the promise of actually seeing other human beings in the quarantine-sallow flesh. That’s why John Oliver’s top story on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight was on popsicles, and how, “when it gets too hot, it can be a real problem.” Naw, just kidding, the main story was about prisons (perhaps the opposite of popsicles on any scale of fun and desirable summer things.) Specifically, Oliver’s bait-and-switch focused on the fact that some of the hottest places in the country house untold thousands of human beings in sweltering conditions where the heat index has been measured at 150 degrees, and where an increasingly aging and chronically ill population is acutely susceptible to everything from heatstroke, to heat-exacerbated heart attack, to a documented summertime rise in self-harm and suicide.
As Oliver notes in the closing of his typically furious and funny exposé on prison heat (and not the 1993 film of the same name, whose IMDb synopsis promises that “Four American babes on vacation in the Middle East run into trouble”), the solution is refreshingly simple. “We shouldn’t be cooking prisoners to death—the end,” states Oliver, noting that simply air conditioning America’s hottest prisons and jails will alleviate that particular social ill quite neatly. “I know this show has trained you to anticipate nuance,” admits Oliver, “but this one is really pretty straightforward.” So, easy fix, right?
Well, no, of course not. As Oliver notes, the intentionally cruel and racially biased nature of mass incarceration in this country aside (and that’s a big “aside”), the people in charge of prisoners’ safety aren’t so much interested in prisoner safety when it comes to, among other things, preventing them from literally cooking to death. Take Texas, which has spent over $7 million on a lawsuit to stop one of its prisons from installing AC, even though actually going ahead and putting in air conditioning would cost $4 million. Plucking some Texas officials out for this week’s representative villains, Oliver played a clip of Texas State Senator John Whitmire explaining, concerning the simple solution of AC for the incarcerated, “One, we don’t want to. Number two, we couldn’t afford it if we wanted to.” As Oliver points out, one—everything after “We don’t want to” is bullshit. Especially since—number two—Oliver’s already shown how “we couldn’t afford it” is utter and complete bullshit.
How much bullshit? Well, one Texas prison did spend the money to air condition its living quarters—for its in-house pig farm, because keeping valuable swine from literally turning into cooked bacon in the stifling and incessant Texas heat is inhumane. For pigs. Or the fact that another Texas prison ponied up the cash to air condition its staff quarters, while people like Texas State Senator John Whitmire stated, “Don’t commit a crime and you stay home and stay cool.” Or the deposition of one Warden Jeff Pringle of Hutchens State Jail after his staff waited 40 minutes to transport a convulsing, heatstroke-afflicted prisoner to the hospital where he, after coming in with a body temperature of 109.4 degrees, died. Pringle is shown stonewalling so egregiously over the death of Larry McCollum (in jail for passing a bad check) that it’s a testament to his unseen interlocutor that that lawyer never once just takes a swing at him. (It’s not Pringle’s worst sin, but pronouncing the word “speculate” as “spekalate,” isn’t especially endearing.)
As Oliver notes here, the cruelty is the point, a feature of the American prison system that saw one Texas prison fraudulently citing a disqualifyingly huge $109 million price tag to install AC in housing for developmentally disabled prisoners, even though the actual building itself cost $26 million to build. After all, they’re just human beings, not pigs, right? There are simply those, like Whitmire and Pringle, who hold that incarcerated people deserve every single deprivation and torture the U.S. prison system can devise. (And for those quibbling over the word “torture,” Oliver cites a United Nations Committee Against Torture report putting Texas prisons on an international human rights watchlist.) Then there’s the former head of a correctional officers union who, while admitting, “I don’t have love for these people,” states unequivocally, “We’re supposed to run prisons, not concentration camps.” And while Texas gets most of the heat, Oliver is quick to point out that this is a systemic problem all across the country, one with a simple solution that, as he concludes, “No one seems to give enough of a shit to do anything about.”
56 Comments
Take a poll. Pretty sure a strong majority will still say: “don’t do crimes”.
Yeah sure but do you think creating an atmosphere of cruelty is a wise decision ? For the prisoners or the prison employees ?
Would the alternative mean thinking too hard? If so, I’d argue many Americans are perfectly fine with it. Doesn’t hinder the family BBQ, dontchaknow!
Your combination of BBQ, which makes me think brisket and ribs, with upper Midwestern slang is really unsettling.
Wisdom likely doesn’t have much to do with it. A lot of people in this country have a puritanical view of crime and punishment and are positively titillated by the thought of criminals suffering.
Correct.But, hey, most Americans don’t fucking read, or understand information any longer or of more depth than the text on a fucking cereal box, so, yeah. Garbage in, garbage out.Courage of conviction. Those same American should blatantly say, “I am happy with the state using my tax dollars to incarcerate criminals inside an actual human kiln.” And, seeing as many Americans likely think “recidivism” is a disease, that tracks.
If YOU read enough to understand recidivism then you also know that you’re not making a point by being an edgelord. The simple point of incarceration doesn’t mean torture seems to be escaping you too.
SIDEBAR: Always fun when someone entirely misses my point by a country mile, and gets big mad about it. 😀 NOTE TO GRAY DUDE: Re-read it. We agree.
eh, that’s easier said than done for a lot of people, and also, what do you do about the people currently in prison who have already done the crime? say “oh well, sucks to be you, be sure to sprinkle yourself with water while you’re dying”? For an allegedly Christian nation, there sure are a lot of sadistic fuckers in this place.
For an allegedly Christian nation, there sure are a lot of sadistic fuckers in this place. Yep. And, frankly, anyone who is cool with people being cooked alive is a sociopath who doesn’t have the balls to go out a’hunting themselves.
They’re not sociopaths. I understand why you say that, but I think it’s important not to pathologize this. These are normal people who actually believe this shit. They have empathy for things they want to have empathy for. They’re just shitty people. It’s not a mental illness. It’s garden-variety shittiness.
“For an allegedly Christian nation, there sure are a lot of sadistic fuckers in this place.”
Because Christianity is not known for sadism?
Christians love sprinkling water. It’s Holy Magick Water. Sprinkling it spreads the Love around. It’s like Jesus Himself sweating on you.
“and also, what do you do about the people currently in prison who have already done the crime?”
Why would someone who says “don’t do the crime” give a shit about someone who has done the crime?
That’s because cruelty is the point, not a by-product.
You’re saying passing a bad check should carry the death penalty? And would those same people say let’s overhaul all the systems so that hunger, poverty, lack of quality education, etc., don’t funnel people into a life of crime? Or to overhaul the system so that we aren’t funneling poor and minority people into the prison system who may or may not have committed crimes at all?
Not to mention he was admitted with a temperature of 109F…brain damage begins at 104F or 105F. Hate to say it, but it might be a good thing he died, otherwise he would have spent the rest of his life with no mental cognizance whatsoever.
Ugh. If I think about prisons too long I just end up in rage and despair.
A fair point. I won’t lie, there are some people that I have no problem with rotting in these hells – rapists, pedophiles, murderers. The problem is most of the people are in prison for crimes that aren’t violent, who are and of a right ought to be subject to rehabilitation – drug addicts, for example.
Or, say, folks doing time for selling weed as VC firms open up dispensaries country wide.
Ah, the usual pseudo-psychology by people indistinguishable in their outlook on the world from those you claim you despise. And yet, you believe every bit the same that cruelty is perfectly excusable if you just have the right(TM) reasons. You know who else thinks so? Those you pretend you have a moral high ground over. But that’s not even it. Because plenty of murders happen out of specific constellations between the murderer and the victim, rooted in their specific relationship, without any reason to assume they’d act the same way outside this constellation. They acted the way they did because from their perspective, it was the only way out of a desperate situation they saw themselves in. No, that doesn’t make it right. But it certainly makes it way, way less deliberately cruel than the purely sadistical reveling in cruelty you entertain.So kindly shove it with your holier than thou attitude. Plenty of nations out there prove that you can rehabilitate murderers. You, on the other hand, prefer to breed and encourage them, declaring quite openly that there are excuses to squash out a human life with as much cruelty as you can muster.Congratulations, you can be proud of yourself.No, the problem is not “most of the people are in prison for crimes that aren’t violent”. That’s merely a symptom. The problem is that the US has a culture in which violence is glorified as the prime solution for all problems and yours is a stellar example for that,
Sounds like someone needs a nap.
What the heck was that all about?
Yeah, like…the fuck?
I feel like you took about three words of what he said, and cobbled a thesis together on the basis of what you think he meant.
No, he definitely said he has no problem seeing rapists, murderers, and pedophiles “rotting in these hells.” I don’t think that was misinterpreted. I don’t think it’s good for us as a society to decide that certain people deserve to be treated humanely and certain people don’t. That has never ended well.
I mean, I’m all ears for alternatives as regards repeat violent and sexual offenders. Chemical castration? Cruel and unusual. Mental health? Woefully inadequate, even where it exists as a possibility. Release pedophiles and broadcast their crime in perpetuity? Eh, might work as a safeguard, but I fail to see how a “normal” life is thereafter possible.So…what? Give me an overhaul idea. Otherwise you’re just taking the piss out of someone who is basically saying “I don’t want these folks on the street.”
I’m not taking the piss out of anybody, and it’s not my job to individually overhaul the entirety of the system that leads to the tragedies of the prison system in this country, and I don’t know why you feel comfortable giving me this assignment. No one said they have to go back on the street, but why are going back on the street and rotting in a hellhole the literal only options? Why is incarcerating them in a facility with air conditioning not at least one possible option?There are people who know how to do this and have been offering suggestions and alternatives for decades. If you are interested in how to overhaul this system, there is a lot of scholarship available on the internet about it. The point is that, in my opinion, it’s not okay to say you can cook someone convicted of murder (who may or may not have actually done it, given our fucked up justice system) to death but you can’t cook a check kiter to death. Cooking people to death is not something that a civilized society should allow, regardless of the crime, and ElectricSheep on the AVClub discussion board should not be your last hope for figuring out how not to do that.
Sorry, FWIW, I responded to the wrong guy.That idiot can go fuck a duck. You? I get what you’re saying.
He’s saying the same thing, just more aggressively. lol
At the end of the day, give the fuckers air conditioning. It’s the right call.
As to the other guy, he needs to work on his presentation. And, y’know, on providing literally any information of value to literally anyone.Like, this: Those you pretend you have a moral high ground over. But that’s not even it. Because plenty of murders happen out of specific constellations between the murderer and the victim, rooted in their specific relationship, without any reason to assume they’d act the same way outside this constellation. They acted the way they did because from their perspective, it was the only way out of a desperate situation they saw themselves in. No, that doesn’t make it right. But it certainly makes it way, way less deliberately cruel than the purely sadistical reveling in cruelty you entertain. Like…“Now do repeat pedophiles, of the type who have victimized entire families, you absolute fucking knob. Pretty sure literally everyone who doesn’t repeatedly fuck literal children has the moral high ground compared to those who do – again – fuck literal children.”
Yeah I don’t think OP deserved that level of anger necessarily, but I do think if OP thought about what he said a bit more he wouldn’t really mean it. But that’s their fight. I’ve said my piece. 🙂
Bye, hydroxide! Learn how to make an actual point, and that copious amounts of fondant and window dressing does not a point make.But, hey, plenty of time to grow up, lil’ homie. ;-*
Awww, that’s cute.You want to tell people to grow up? You want to lecture people how to make a point? You’re the equivalent of a little kid bawling that a parent told them it’s not ok to rip the wings and legs off a live bug, coming up with sundry insults and lies to try and portray the adult as bad.The fact that you had to resort to an all-out lie just to have something to retort says all about you that’s needed to know.Here’s news to you – denial of a point doesn’t make the point go away. Your belief that if you just hold your hands in front of your eyes, things will go away makes quite clear who needs to grow up. Unbeknownst to you, everyone else can read the point, even if you refuse to. But yeah, a TED talks and a documentary don’t make a point, either, right?
You’re hilarious. Now go back to your flag-waving and anthem-singing, pretending that the US of A are the only nation on planet Earth and Germany and Norway are figments of my imagination.
Didn’t read, buddy. ;-*
Yeah, sure. Never mind that his comment was barely a few lines.Did he or did he not write “I won’t lie, there are some people that I have no problem with rotting in these hells – rapists, pedophiles, murderers.” ?
That line poses almost half of his entire post. So if anyone cobbled anything together, it’s your suggestion I “took about three words”. Your “feelings”, I’m afraid, have less connection with reality than my supposed “thesis”.
I mean, I’m all ears for alternatives as regards repeat violent and sexual offenders. Chemical castration? Cruel and unusual. Mental health? Woefully inadequate, even where it exists as a possibility. Release pedophiles and broadcast their crime in perpetuity? Eh, might work as a safeguard, but I fail to see how a “normal” life is thereafter possible.So…what? Give me an overhaul idea. Otherwise you’re just taking the piss out of someone who is basically saying “I don’t want these folks on the street.”You…you do have *actual ideas* behind your sophistry, no? Kind of necessary for sophistry to work to full effect. Just FYI.
Awww, cute, now we’re down to yelling “Murrrricaaa!!!!!!”, are we?
And guess what – they don’t have larger recidivism rates than the US. Quite the contrary. Might have something to with your logic that being a sadistic pervert is a-ok as long as you have good excuses not quite adding up.
Chemical castration? Cruel and unusualAh, but baking them to death in their prison cells isn’t? Release pedophiles and broadcast their crime in perpetuity? Eh, might work as a safeguard, but I fail to see how a “normal” life is thereafter possible.Except the original point was to never letting them lead a normal life to begin with. So…what? Give me an overhaul idea. Otherwise you’re just taking the piss out of someone who is basically saying “I don’t want these folks on the street.”Except that’s not at all the post I replied to was about. It was saying “torturing people to death is perfectly ok if you just have the right(TM) excuse” You…you do have *actual ideas* behind your sophistry, no? Kind of necessary for sophistry to work to full effect. Just FYI. Just FYI – it helps having this thing called education. Learn a wee bit about the world at large, rather than believing that flag-waving and anthem-singing makes you a living god, part of an eternal, infallible master race that already knows everything and has the best solution for everything.
Says the one who has no interest whatsoever in allowing them a normal life to begin with, but by his own admission wants them to suffer for the rest of their lives. Yeah. Never said that. Not once.You’re dumb, dude. And still spouting sophistry while thinking you’re making an actual point. ;-* Bye!
I agree everyone deserves the right to be rehabilitated. We put these offenders in these hellholes and wonder why they come out even more monstrous than when they went in.
“Well, what if some of them are rapists like Harvey Weinstein?”Yes, EVERYONE that has been convicted of a crime still deserves to be treated humanely. These conditions are wrong. The death penalty is wrong. The “slow death penalty” (a.k.a. life in prison) is wrong. I don’t care how many people they raped, murdered or tortured, they still deserve humane treatment.
Make a poll. Pretty sure a strong majority will still say “Cruelty is a vice”.
Pretty sure The Constitution speaks about Cruel and Unusual Punishment, but you fucking morons like trampling all over that sacred document every chance you get, eh?Go die in a fire.
Well, Pringle’s dead now, so there’s that. That fucking idiot, man…
Is that true? That’s some silver-lining.
Yep. Cancer. https://www.groesbeckfuneralhome.com/obituary/jeffery-pringle
Well ask not for whom the bell tolls, and all that, so I won’t say it’s a cause for celebration, but, welp, I’ll just stop there.
From that obit:“Jeff attended Word of Life Family Worship Center in Groesbeck. Jeff’s mission in life was always to serve the Lord and to give his all
to his family, and he accomplished that mission every single day.”Barf.
Glioblastoma, huh? Explains all the “I do not know” answers.
I live in Florida and I am no fan of Florida, but Texas? Yeah, fuck you, Texas.
kinda amazed he didn’t break down the ratio of black vs non-black people in prisons because I can’t help thinking that’s the real cause of the apathy here (especially in places like TX or LA or FL).the part about the pigs getting air conditioning reminded me of Blazing Saddles where Bart and his friend were about to drown in quicksand but the cowboys were able to save the handcart. On a mostly unrelated note, I remember back on Dennis Miller’s old HBO show that he did an interview with Joe Arpaio, yucking it up about how awesome it was that Arpaio’s prisons in Arizona were like ovens. That was my epiphany that maybe Dennis Miller was a fucking asshole disguised as a comedian. Now I wish he and Arpaio were sharing a cell.
Yup, my mind immediately went to a lot of white people thinking its just blacks getting cooked, so who cares.
Jesus. I just can’t handle this country sometimes. Most of the time.
“the cruelty is the point, a feature of the American America”
There you go.
I don’t have air conditioning either, but at least when it gets too hot I’m free to take steps to cool off. One thing the piece doesn’t discuss is that excessive heat brings more violence. It’s true enough in my neighborhood, so I’m sure it’s true in the prison yard. I would think it would be in the best interests of controlling the prison population to keep things from heating up, both figuratively and literally.
Yeah, it was a surprisingly short piece @ 13:00. Another interesting thing to note is that the reason prisons don’t have heat is because you already have so many bodies packed together in a confined space that the body heat heavily increases the ambient temperatures. Ever gone to an event in a gymnasium or stadium in the winter, and wondered why the windows were open, even when it’s below freezing outside?Body heat. And have you ever experienced 150F ambient temperatures? It’s fucking sweltering; no way you could survive that more than an hour or so. I walked around in a paintbooth during the bake-cycle once (and my friend let me walk around in one of the warehouses at his lumber-mill that was kept at 150F), and let me tell you, that shit’s not comfortable, or even livable.When I worked at Tyson in the early-aughts, I had to go work on the fry-lines a fair amount. From time-to-time they had to de-pressurize the fryers (about 30-feet long) and release all the steam…it wasn’t at all uncommon for workers to die from heat-stroke, because the ambient temperature was already 100F+, but when combined with 100F temperatures outside in the summer, suddenly the entire department would be 150F for two or three hours after the fact.