I watched a show recently about inmates around the country who are getting married while in prison. They showed examples of famous criminals being married, inmates on death row getting married, lifers getting married, and the run of the mill inmate getting married.

There seemed to be strict rules about which inmates were allowed to get married, but in my opinion, for any inmate to be married while in prison is an outrage! When a person enters jail, they enter a world without privileges. It is their own fault that they ended up in prison, and they should be stripped of almost every single right they have.

Of course I do not feel the same about all types of inmates. For the most part, I am talking about hardened criminals such as murderers and armed robbers. You know, the ones that are actually dangerous and are a detriment to society.

I have several issues with the way this all goes down. So here goes...

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a human being has several levels of needs in order to live a fulfilled life. Before reaching the next level, a person must be completely satisfied of the needs in the preceding level.

The first level consists of a person's physiological needs which includes the basic needs for food, water, and shelter. These needs are essential for a person to physically survive. Without them they will surely die.

A prison meets all three of these physiological needs, and I would argue that these are absolutely imperative for our jail system. Without meeting these needs, we are subjecting other human beings to neglect.

Here's the thing. These criminals should be neglected, but because of our morals...two wrongs don't make a right. This is the way I see it...A person on Death Row is really just wasting our time and money. If they are sentenced to death, line 'em up and stick 'em with the needle. There is no reason that people should sit on Death Row year after year, eating food that we pay for in a building run on tax dollars. I know it is expensive to execute someone in prison, however there is no way that it costs more to shoot someone up with a lethal injection than to house and feed them for 30-60 years or longer!

That is where the buck stops with me. As long as we are providing the basic lifelines in our prison system, then that is where inmate rights should end.

Some argue that sex is part of the first level on Maslow's pyramid. They say it is a basic physiological need.

If this were to be true, I would agree with conjugal visits, but since a person can survive without sex, conjugal visits are definitely a privilege that should not be allowed for prison inmates! Again, if they are in prison, it is their own fault (with the extremely rare exceptions of the wrongfully accused). They should not be allowed the same benefits that a person on "the outside" has.

Here is my issue...

If you screw up bad enough to find yourself in prison, I want you to have as little as possible as your punishment. Life behind bars is not enough. There is no reason an inmate should be rewarded for "good behavior" after committing a crime that lands them in a cell to begin with.

I know people can be rehabilitated and some deserve second chances, but that is the price you pay for being a dumbass. Murderers do not deserve a second chance. They took someone's life and should pay the ultimate consequence.

Instead, however, good behavior warrants enough benefits for some inmates that it allows them to find love and get married while in prison! I have no proof or anything to back this statement up with, but I'm willing to bet that a marriage in prison is not free, and that I am paying for it out of my own pocket. Bullshit!

Love and marriage would be considered part of the third level of needs on Maslow's Hierarchy, and is listed as love and belonging. I am all for inmates moving up the pyramid of needs if they can, however it better be at their own expense. I don't want any part of helping them find joy. The fact that inmates are allowed to get married while they are in prison infuriates me.

I certainly don't mind if they find love in prison, or if they are already married. Visitors are fine in my book, which pretty much means an inmate must already be in love, or have someone they know that visits that later turns into some kind of relationship.

But wait...there's more! Inmates, both men and women, are allowed access to the Internet in order to find "love". In fact, there are special websites set up for this specific reason! This is absolutely ridiculous.

On the one hand, it is an extremely good idea business-wise. The founders of these sites are definitely doing well for themselves. On the other hand, this should never be allowed. A prison sentence is a prison sentence, and there should be nothing given to these criminals that allows them to personally benefit themselves in this way.

Educating themselves is one thing because it betters them in a way that can eventually benefit society. Marriage and sex are good only to them and to the person they marry. It serves no purpose to the rest of us who are paying for them!

Marriage, sex, TV, radio etc. are all luxuries that people work hard for all of their lives. An inmate should NOT be given these same luxuries simply because they are behaving themselves behind bars. Basically, if it doesn't benefit society in some way, inmates should not be able to do it!

And in the words of Forrest Gump...

That is all I got to say about that.