Makes you proud to be British

[CL]

I did consider that, but WP, your wording does sound like you'd like to charge them retrospectively. Let's assume you were meaning they shouldn't have TV.


I think it's probably important for people in prison to have some link to cultural events in the outside world. After all, you are expecting them to re-integrate into society on release. That must be hard for those serving longer sentences.

I'd also like to prevent prisoners from going insane due to being locked in a small room for most of every day.

I think TVs are a cheap and easy way of achieving both these goals. The cost of a TV licence is also a drop in the ocean compared with the average £40,000 it costs to keep each person in prison for a year.

The whole point to prison is to punish offenders. Giving them some of the pleasures of the outside world sends out the wrong message.

As to going insane in a small cell, they should have thought about that before biffing the old lady on the head with a crow-bar.

Almost forgot the contradiction in your last paragraph.