“Nutraloaf” is full of wholesome ingredients, but a class action on behalf of Vermont prison inmates claims it is punishment to eat and should be assigned only after disciplinary proceedings. (Wilson Ring, AP/Examiner, Mar. 22)(via Mike Cernovich at the happily revived Crime and Federalism).
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In prisoners; Vermont
Recipe:
This recipe must be followed without substitution or variation in procedure. Any such change could effect the nutrient content.
2 oz Ground Beef
Brown off in kettle and drain thoroughly
4 oz Canned, Chopped Spinach
4 oz Canned Carrots, Diced
4 oz Vegetarian Beans
Open and drain all vegetables well
4 oz Applesauce
1 oz Tomato Paste
1/2 cup Potato Flakes
1 cup Bread Crumbs
2 oz Dry Milk Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder or Flakes
Combine beef and vegetables. Gradually blend in remaining ingredients until well combined. Mixture should be stiff but moist enough to spread. Each loaf should weigh 1 1/2 pounds precooked weight and be scaled to insure proper weight. Place mixture into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with pan release and lined with filter paper.
Each loaf should bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit in convection/steam oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the loaf reaches 155 degrees internal temperature.
(Substitute 4 oz vegetarian beans for meat in vegetarian recipe.)
That’s it? That’s the recipe for it? They’re complaining about eating meatloaf? I suppose Vermont’s state budget doesn’t allow for champagne and chateaubriand for convicted felons.
What next, the dreaded fruitcake? I have heard that making someone eat one is considered to be cruel or inhuman punishment.
it is punishment to eat and should be assigned only after disciplinary proceedings.
Hm, I was under the impression that EVERYONE in prison was there after some form of “disciplinary proceedings”.
“Christopher Williams, 29, who is charged in a 2006 school shooting that killed two people in Essex, was given nutraloaf after he’d assaulted guards and smeared excrement in his cell.”
I sometimes wonder why we as a society tolerate this at all. I have some reservations about the death penalty, but it seems to me that this is an irreperable breach of the social contract that warrants it. For instance: a person who commits a crime deserves punishment, perhaps incarceration. The commission of crimes, however, is most often a remediable breach of the social contract - you can remedy it by serving time, paying a fine, etc. But if you are so pathological and so determined to harm society that you continue on that path of behavior even while incarcerated, you should not be allowed to live. Skip the nutraloaf and give Christopher Williams the needle.
AA,
Not directly related to the above post but I have wondered before what deterrent you have when a person is sentenced to Life without parole.
Seems that, ignoring the possible loss of the unlikely pardon, there isn’t much else they can do to you. Particularly if your State does not have a death penalty. Permanent Solitary would probably be rules Cruel.
OBQ, I think you have a point. And if my post sounded radical, let me say this as well: I am skeptical of life imprisonment terms, and even long prison terms, partly for the reason you mention. Life in prison is a sort of death penalty, anyway… only one that might even be LESS humane, given prison life.
One thing I am certain of: the penalty for killing a corrections officer should be death.
These prisoners obviously never went to college. This Nutraloaf sounds far better than any of the dorm food we usually got!
On a serious note, I’m so sick and tired of prisoners complaining that things aren’t just peachy for them. They get far too much as it is. For example, television ought to be paid for through the minimal wages they earn by performing work at the prison. Not doing a job (such as the old standby, license plate making)? No TV. This isn’t a long-term hotel. And that TV feed costs real money to the prison, so let’s make the prisoners actually cover some of the expenses they generate.
I honestly think this sounds so good!