The prison systems of the United States are rest homes for most of their inmates. They provide good food and entertainment. Television sets and weight lifting gyms keep inmates busy and seldom are there any complaints. Most inmates meet others who come from similar backgrounds and share common interests. There are very few cases of documented depression. This fact alone shows how well adapted inmates are to the prison environment. Prison riots are caused by battles between gangs that want control of the trade in contraband. They have no quarrel with prison authorities that keep them content with most needed basics. New prison guards are shocked to see big happy families that seldom cause problems. This is the general picture of a prison system that is one of the most humane in the world.

There is a certain type of individual that doesn't fit into the prison population .He is a loner that hates prison life and the gang culture of its inmates. To him going to prison is going to hell. His sentence is one of the cruelest punishment that one human can give to another. But lawbreakers have to be dealt with and judges have no alternative but to send them to prison.

The French Foreign Legion was made up of men that rather then going to prison agreed to enlist in its army. They were then shipped to the colonies to protect French possessions. Most of them never returned to France. They started a new life and raised families. Some died in battle. Very few returned to a life of crime. They were high spirited men that chose freedom rather than the security of a French prison.

The Legionnaire's Code of Honor

1. Legionnaire, you are a volunteer serving France with "Honor and Fidelity".

2. Every legionnaire is your brother-in-arms, regardless of his nationality, race, or religion. You will demonstrate this by strict solidarity which must always unite members of the same family.

3. Respect of traditions, devotion to your leaders, discipline and comradeship are your strengths, courage and loyalty your virtues.

4. Proud of your status as legionnaire, you display this in your uniform, which is always impeccable, your behavior always dignified but modest, your living quarters always clean.

5. An elite soldier, you will train rigorously, you will maintain your weapon as your most precious possession, and are constantly concerned with your physical form.

6. A mission is sacred; you will carry it out until the end respecting laws, customs of war, international conventions and, if necessary, at the risk of your life. In combat, you will act without passion and without hate, you will respect the vanquished enemy, you will never abandon your dead or wounded, nor surrender your arms.

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We would be a more humane society if we followed the example of the French and gave all our convicted felons a chance to serve in the Foreign Legion as an alternative to prison. It would help our country and give those who want to avoid prison life a chance to redeem themselves. For the true criminals that prefer the lifestyle of prison life let them complete their sentence. melpol

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