Associated Press – July 7, 2007:

After months alone in his cell, Scot Noble Payne finished 20 pages of letters, describing to loved ones the decrepit conditions of the prison where he was serving time for molesting a child. Then Payne used a razor blade to slice two 3-inch gashes in his throat. Guards found his body in the cell’s shower, with the water still running.

Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request show Idaho did little monitoring of out-of-state inmates, despite repeated complaints from prisoners, their families and a prison inspector.

“They cut corners because the bottom line is making money,” said Caylor Rolling, prison program director at Partnership for Safety and Justice in Portland, Ore., a group that promotes prison alternatives.

So what exactly were the problems in the prison?

no substance-abuse treatment, and a complete lack of Idaho-sanctioned anger-management classes and pre-release programs.

inadequate church services, poor food and limited recreation time.

sewage from adjacent cells, poor medical and dental care, and a lack of educational programs.

Yeah, awful stuff, smelly room, no free education, and poor medical attention, sort of like the real world for the poor. Now in comparison, let’s look at prison life in Japan. Here’s a good quote, although I strongly suggest you read the rest here.

The cell I was placed in this time had the window blocked and wreaked of piss. The walls were moldy and the floor surrounding the toilet was too. There were lots of bugs to keep me company. Everything was taken out of the cell except for a filthy mattress. It was explained to me that I would have to sit in the middle of my cell and face my door all day long [from 7:30am-5:00pm]. I was told to keep my hands on my lap and not to move. That was my existence for an entire month! The little bit of rice and soup I had previously received, my daily allotment, was cut in half. If I wanted to use the toilet, I had to wait until the guard gave the signal twice daily. No exercise and 1 x 15minute shower every ten days! I was caught on several occasions exercising in my cell and time was added to my solitary confinement. After about 40 days, I was taken out of solitary and placed back in a factory to work.

I am only the 2nd American to be transferred out of Japan. Apparently, the Japanese prison authorities know that we will receive better treatment in American prisons, so they are making foreigners serve at least 50% of our sentences in Japan before they will agree to let us transfer.

When I arrived at the federal detention center in Los Angeles, I felt like I had died and gone to Disneyland. The difference in the two prison systems is incredible! The treatment I received in the American prison was humane and tolerable. The Japanese system lacks any trace of humanity.