How should Prisons be run?

This is kind of a spin-off from my last blog (The Prison Riot in New Castle Indiana). What can I say, the story is still on the news and my mind is racing...

A few minutes ago, one interviewee came on the air on MSNBC. This gentleman was a former correctional facility head official for 15 years. He described himself as "lucky" for having to deal with only one prison riot in his 15 years as chief.

Now, he did happen to say something that caught my attention as I looked at videos of the New Castle Correctional Facility. He said that they way he ran his prison, "you don't give the prisoners anything." This being said as thry showed shots of volleyball courts, basketball courts, fields of various types...

Then I started thinking. Granted, this is a minimum-medium security prison. But there were reports of some of the prisoners having make-shift weapons that they were using. Other prisoners were using equipement to try to tear down a fence. And others were running around inside setting mattresses on fire.

So they must have access to some of these materials.

And even if they gained access only after the riot broke out, do they really need the volleyball courts? Volleyball? Really?

I don't think prisons should be run like hotels or resorts. Prison is a place that prisoners should not want to return to. Granted, we can't strip prisoners of their human rights just because they commited a crime, but should they live better than many of the rest of us?

And what does "human" rights entail? The right to play basketball? I doubt it.