Prison Food Flap
I just got done reading an AP article about how inmates in Vermont are filing a class-action suit against the prison system over what they deem unfair punishment — involving food.
Apparently, when inmates misbehave in some instances, they’re given something called “nutraloaf” which, according to reporter Wilson Ring, is “a mixture of cubed whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk and dehydrated potato flakes” instead of regular cafeteria fare. This nutraloaf tastes so bad that prisoners claim it’s punishment, and as such, there should be due process before they’re given the concoction.
Ring further writes that inmates are usually put on nutraloaf for such offenses as messing around with their food, utensils, and trays in the cafeteria, or for throwing feces and urine. Prison officials believe using nutraloaf as a dissuasive tool helps protect staff from this type of behavior.
I can’t believe that a case like this is actually going to the Vermont Supreme Court. I get why prisoners might not like nutraloaf, but it’s not as though it’s in the same league as solitary confinement or restricted yard privileges, is it?
The article said that one guy was given nutraloaf after smearing his own feces all over his cell. Yeah, he sounds like a class act right there. Let’s listen to him boo-hoo about the food he’s given… at least he gets something to eat, all on the taxpayers’ dime.
Well, with the prisoners that throw utensils and food, this is a legit solution that takes care of the problem.
Vermont’s own laws state that a prisoner’s diet can not be changed as a punishment — which for the feces throwing inamtes, it is done as a punishment. This is where Vermont will lose, and rightly should lose. The correction isn’t kicking this suit out — it’s valid and based on VT’s current laws — the solution is to change the Vermont law itself. If you want to use this to punish inmates who have specific behaviours, write it into law, and hcnage the current one. *That* will make the lawsuit moot.
You’re absolutely right, Brendan. The nutraloaf punishment really is punishment, so according to the state’s own laws, the inmates should be given due process before being switched to these meals. I guess changing the law is the next step….
Tasty? Maybe not. But it sounds like a meal full of nutrition that these guys would not otherwise have if they were living on the streets. After having read the book “Rachel and her Children,” a documentary about the homeless, I invite these ingrates to donate their portions to those who are REALLY hungry, and the prisoners could then be fed day-old artisan bread and bottled water in front of their large screen TV’s! Who said prison life is supposed to be a pleasant experience?????