I believe it is not in anyone's best interest to force prisoners to sit in their cells and rot.

If prisoners can be gainfully employed learning a trade or providing a service and if they are compensated in a way that benefits them and the citizens, then I am in favor of prison employment.

If the prisoners are abused in any way, than no.

As some background, as a teen I worked on the County farm cleaning the animal stalls. It was hot and smelly.

The county ran the farm to feed the jail and the old folks home.

The guys working the fields were the prisoners from the local jail. They tended the animals, milked the cows, worked the horses and did repairs on the barns. My job was below their status.

I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with these guys, besides each one being innocent or having been set up by a ex-wife/girlfriend/friend, they all preferred working on the farm over sitting behind bars.

The county no longer runs the farm because the ACLU filed a suit contending farm labor was slavery. Too bad.

Now the prisoners and old folks eat canned veggies, fruit and meat from North Dakota.