Rejected petition New model prisons

Prisons should be run as factories. If inmates are working, they are paying for their keep, learning skills, gaining a work ethic and an understanding that they aren’t entitled to what they desire, they must earn it.
Inmates must work a given percentage number of days during their sentence or they will be kept inside until they do. If a given inmate has cost more than he’s earned, then he must work off the cost of feeding/housing/clothing/guarding him. Also, inmates who refuse to work must not be allowed any benefits whatsoever. Given the choice between an ever-lengthening sentences combined with being in an empty cell for 23 hours a day, most will choose to work.
Tougher sentences and conditions in prisons will return prison to the deterrent it used to be. By making work more appealing than remaining in a cell, inmates will be occupied, thus avoiding the psychological damage incurred by protracted periods of extreme boredom and inactivity. This reduces the chances of reoffending.