Yes, the entire police system is sadistic. If you are arrested, you are supposed to be presumed innocent until convicted by a court — right? If that is the case, then why do they chain you to a bench overnight, then put you in a cell with thirty other people, with one toilet exposed to everyone and no toilet paper? (That’s what happened to me decades ago when I was arrested for unknowingly driving with a suspending license.) And why do the cops mock you?

And when decide that they need to shoot someone, why do they aim to kill and fire every round in their magazine? The news is full of stories of cops who all fire at once, resulting in 50 bullets fired just because someone reached for their cellphone.

The prison system is no different. It is a system of monsters who lock up monsters.

But the system is also designed incorrectly. Gangs flourish in prisons because the prisoners are free to talk around. A person who regrets what put them in prison and just wants to do their time, has to worry about being bullied, raped, and beaten up.

Prisoners should not be able to physically interact. Talk, yes. But each should be in a separate cell. Access to outdoors for exercise should be allowed only in small groups: the prison “yard” should be divided up so that there are no more than ten inmates to a section when they are allowed outside, and each section should be separated from the others. Activity in each section of the yard should be watched by at least two guards. Showering should be small groups at a time, and supervised by guards. Meals should be passed into their cell.

Importantly, no guard should ever be alone with a prisoner: always two should be required, and every interaction between guards and prisoners should be recorded — everything — and the recordings maintained offsite. Cameras should sound an alarm if they are disabled or covered up. All staff should wear badges that track where each person is at all times, and all hallways should have cameras at both ends.

There should be no communal activities — no classes, no teamwork, no making license plates. Prisoners should be kept separate, for their safety and to prevent subcultures from developing. Too many prisoners learn about crime in prison. Prisoners should be given access to all the books and news journals they want. They should be allowed to talk from their cell to the one on each side, but should be kept physically separate.

And solitary should not exist. If prisoners were kept separate as I have explained, solitary would not be necessary. And protection from “prison culture” would allow people to reflect on what got them there, and perhaps heal.