A 2013 study of the Bureau of Prisons has revealed that people are happier if they take part in the system that evaluates them.  Yep.  A 7-yera study by the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Dept. of Criminology at the University of Maryland has concluded what any first-grade teacher could have told us:  inmates need to have a voice.

Ironically, the study sees as positive that prisoners’ failure to complete the draconian steps of the Prison Litigation Reform Act and thus courts decide in BOP’s favor.  How is that a good thing, actually?

“”The study appears to validate the BOP’s grievance system.  ‘Generally speaking, people feel a process is more “just” when their voice is heard before decisions are made, decision makers treat everyone equally, outcomes are proportionate, and there is a process of appeal or challenge if they don’t agree with an outcome.’  Well, yes.  Getting to vent about a problem is useful.  But how does that make the BOP process a good part of incarceration?  Read the full story at:

Prison Legal News, July 2014 (p 37)