Fire camp is a program that most prisoners actually want to get into. They get to learn useful skills, the accommodations are better, and the prisoners there don’t want to get removed from the program so they’re unlikely to be violent. I have a friend who spent 3 years in that program and he greatly preferred it to the prison he transferred from.
Reyna pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the 2005 shooting death of Daniel Rodriguez in the San Diego city of Alpine…
Reyna is now part of a growing list of former inmates who will or have been hired full-time by fire departments just California endures massive wildland infernos caused by the climate crisis…
CalFire estimates since 2018, 229 former inmates enrolled in [Ventura Training Center]. Of those, 136 got jobs, the majority with CalFire, and 56 are in camp now.
California governor Gavin Newsom cleared roadblocks to inmates becoming fire firefighters with the signing of a bill… The bill also gave courts the power to expunge inmate firefighters’ criminal records, which had often made it more difficult for former inmates to get hired. The courts can wipe out camp prisoners guilty or nolo contendere pleas, and a plea of not guilty can be entered, or verdicts of guilt to be set aside.
One of the first former camp inmates to have his record expunged is Jose Santana, who trained at VTC, completed the program in the spring of 2021 and got hired soon after by the CalFire Tulare Station Unit.
Santana served three in years in prison for a crime he apologizes for repeatedly and to this day. The ex-convict says while drunk on Jamison whiskey, high on meth and not sleeping for five days, he smashed a liquor bottle into the head of his then girlfriend.
It’s still far too hard for someone who’s already done the job while incarcerated to get hired for the same job when they get out. It does happen, though, and there has been recent progress on making it easier.
‘The slaves that joined the gladiator arena to fight for their freedom actually WANT to be there dont you understand?, They give the gladiators valuable skills, nicer jail cells. I had a friend that spent 3 years as a gladiator and he actually preferred it to being a slave’
Tolerable accommodations, learning skills that can be put to use on the outside, and no fear of violence should be some of the basics of a prison system. The fact that our prison system is so fucked that slavery seems like a better deal isn’t a credit to slavery, it’s evidence of a horrifically broken prison system.
Our prison system absolutely has some major flaws, but fire camp is what you said, tolerable conditions, the ability to learn job skills and work outside, and learn a skill. You can’t guarantee safety from violence among violent people unless they are isolated, and that’s a worse punishment than anything. What I’m saying is that your criticisms of the general prison system aren’t applicable to fire camp, because it offers the things you mentioned.
Getting paid 50 cents an hour to get put in a life-threatening situation because the state doesn’t want to hire firefighters, and would rather pay its prison population a pittance.
Are you under the impression that these prisoners are the only people fighting the fires in California? That is not the case, if that’s your impression.
The post they’re replying to is nitpicking. What difference does it make to this argument if only some of the firefighters are slaves? The point is that slave labor is being employed to avoid paying all the people fighting the fire a reasonable amount.
Always a little disturbing to see these comments. Cause every single time they are made I see phrases like “most prisoners” just straight up acknowledging that it’s not all. Hand waving that away. Creepy.
Not to mention other things like, is it actually true that most prisoners would want to get put in a life threatening situation?
And why are we not acknowledging that the US regime gives prisoners these “choices”: go outside and die for the state, work on our prison farms, get contracted out to private companies, or stare at a wall in a cell. Truly an evil empire that should not be apologized for.
It’s worse. If the basic prisonfood is insufficient, which is common. prisoners need to work to buy more nutritional meals. Or they can risk getting sick and dying, whichever.
Well how would you suggest we deal with people who harm other people? If you can’t put them in a cell, and you can’t make them work, and you can’t teach them to be wilderness firefighters and have them perform those duties, then what do you propose?
There aren’t many countries that employ slave labor like the US. You think they’re the rule but they’re the exception. Just because the US enslaves their prisoners doesn’t mean most other countries do too.
That’s avoiding the question and changing the subject though. I don’t disagree with you on this point. But many of them do deserve to be there, my friend included, so how do you propose they’re dealt with given the limitations you’ve placed on the system? What does your prison look like?
Edit: I just realized you’re not the person who I was replying to originally, so I apologize for saying “you said”.
You know nothing about me, let alone “my history”. That’s also what I suspected, you have no proposed solutions, only complaints. You can’t support your own argument, so instead you attacked me. I’m not pro-slavery, dufus, I’m acknowledging that fire camp is a good program for dealing with criminals, many of whom have hurt people and society, while also providing them with an opportunity to learn job skills, and work outside. For the record I’m opposed to the vast majority of the US prison system, especially the length of confinement.
I don’t presume to know the minds of every person. I do know that my friend was glad to get into the program, as was everyone else he told me about who was in it.
Did you ever ask your friend, if given the choice of having the same options to improve their conditions but without having to work, would they have still chosen fire camp?
Source? As far as I can find, there are no laws in the US banning felons from being firefighters. A company can deny an application because of it, but it’s case-by-case, not some countrywide thing.
Fire camp is a program that most prisoners actually want to get into. They get to learn useful skills, the accommodations are better, and the prisoners there don’t want to get removed from the program so they’re unlikely to be violent. I have a friend who spent 3 years in that program and he greatly preferred it to the prison he transferred from.
And then when they get out they can’t use those skills because their criminal record prevents fire departments from hiring them.
Cal-fire will hire them directly out of prison if they’ve completed the program.
No, they wont. They will give them the right to apply their is no guaranteed job at the end of it.
Inmates makeup 30% of the fire service in Cali; what a fun way to cut salary costs, hire slaves.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/us/felon-firefighters-california/index.html
CW violence, including DV
It’s still far too hard for someone who’s already done the job while incarcerated to get hired for the same job when they get out. It does happen, though, and there has been recent progress on making it easier.
‘The slaves that joined the gladiator arena to fight for their freedom actually WANT to be there dont you understand?, They give the gladiators valuable skills, nicer jail cells. I had a friend that spent 3 years as a gladiator and he actually preferred it to being a slave’
Tolerable accommodations, learning skills that can be put to use on the outside, and no fear of violence should be some of the basics of a prison system. The fact that our prison system is so fucked that slavery seems like a better deal isn’t a credit to slavery, it’s evidence of a horrifically broken prison system.
Our prison system absolutely has some major flaws, but fire camp is what you said, tolerable conditions, the ability to learn job skills and work outside, and learn a skill. You can’t guarantee safety from violence among violent people unless they are isolated, and that’s a worse punishment than anything. What I’m saying is that your criticisms of the general prison system aren’t applicable to fire camp, because it offers the things you mentioned.
you’re missing the point: the slaves who embrace their slavery are treated better than the slaves who resist; like slaves are supposed to do.
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Getting paid 50 cents an hour to get put in a life-threatening situation because the state doesn’t want to hire firefighters, and would rather pay its prison population a pittance.
Are you under the impression that these prisoners are the only people fighting the fires in California? That is not the case, if that’s your impression.
Apologies, yes california does employ some ppl to fight fires with the help of some slaves, my bad.
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Good people don’t make excuses to abuse human beings.
You’re a bad person.
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You realize that’s not what you’re replying to, right? That suggesting lots of people are fighting fires doesn’t actually advocate for slavery; right?
Your quick condemnation was neat-o, though.
The post they’re replying to is nitpicking. What difference does it make to this argument if only some of the firefighters are slaves? The point is that slave labor is being employed to avoid paying all the people fighting the fire a reasonable amount.
Always a little disturbing to see these comments. Cause every single time they are made I see phrases like “most prisoners” just straight up acknowledging that it’s not all. Hand waving that away. Creepy.
Not to mention other things like, is it actually true that most prisoners would want to get put in a life threatening situation?
And why are we not acknowledging that the US regime gives prisoners these “choices”: go outside and die for the state, work on our prison farms, get contracted out to private companies, or stare at a wall in a cell. Truly an evil empire that should not be apologized for.
It’s worse. If the basic prisonfood is insufficient, which is common. prisoners need to work to buy more nutritional meals. Or they can risk getting sick and dying, whichever.
Well how would you suggest we deal with people who harm other people? If you can’t put them in a cell, and you can’t make them work, and you can’t teach them to be wilderness firefighters and have them perform those duties, then what do you propose?
There aren’t many countries that employ slave labor like the US. You think they’re the rule but they’re the exception. Just because the US enslaves their prisoners doesn’t mean most other countries do too.
That’s not an answer to the question at all, but okay.
Here’s your very obvious answer. Instead of enslaving people, we could not do that.
Most of them should never have been put in the carceral system in the first place.
That’s avoiding the question and changing the subject though. I don’t disagree with you on this point. But many of them do deserve to be there, my friend included, so how do you propose they’re dealt with given the limitations you’ve placed on the system? What does your prison look like?
Edit: I just realized you’re not the person who I was replying to originally, so I apologize for saying “you said”.
Given your history, I have my doubts that your friend is real, and one doesn’t need a holistic crime reduction plan in order to be anti-slavery.
You know nothing about me, let alone “my history”. That’s also what I suspected, you have no proposed solutions, only complaints. You can’t support your own argument, so instead you attacked me. I’m not pro-slavery, dufus, I’m acknowledging that fire camp is a good program for dealing with criminals, many of whom have hurt people and society, while also providing them with an opportunity to learn job skills, and work outside. For the record I’m opposed to the vast majority of the US prison system, especially the length of confinement.
That’s good to hear.
I don’t presume to know the minds of every person. I do know that my friend was glad to get into the program, as was everyone else he told me about who was in it.
Then why do you need slavery?
Just let prisoners apply for jobs like sane countries
Did you ever ask your friend, if given the choice of having the same options to improve their conditions but without having to work, would they have still chosen fire camp?
If you’re not presuming that then why did you say most prisoners instead of just the one single one you claim to know?
Do you lack reading comprehension?
“as was everyone else he told me about who was in it”
So you’re supposed friend told you about most of the prisoners in the program? What percentage precisely?
That just shows how bad the alternatives are.
Yes the alternatives suck. But are you aware that there’s people who volunteer to be wilderness firefighters for free? Fire camp is a good program.
When was the last time you fought wildland fires for free?
But then those prisoners aren’t allowed to be hired by professional fire crews after release.
Theu can’t apply the skills they learn.
Source? As far as I can find, there are no laws in the US banning felons from being firefighters. A company can deny an application because of it, but it’s case-by-case, not some countrywide thing.