I think its WONDERFUL that those idle hands will be put to good use. It makes sense to have them put something back into the community. After all the state is feeding/clothing/housing them. After a few weeks of working harder than they ever have on the "outside", they may straighten up their acts and not come back after they are set free!!..

This is a great idea, not only does it help the community but it may just help some of the in-mates get a new outlook on life.

THEY'RE STATE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW. THEY SHOULD BE USED TO HELP THE STATE THEY COMMITTED THE CRIME(S) IN.

I KNOW, I KNOW, ALL THOSE SOFT ON SUCH TACTICS WILL SCREAM UNTIL HOARSE THAT WE HAVE "GONE BACK TO THE STONE AGE". NO, THE CRIMINALS VISITED FRED AND BARNEY FIRST, NOW THEY ARE TO BE USED AS NEEDED FOR PROJECTS THAT FIT THEIR SKILLS.

WHO KNOWS, THIS MIGHT BE THE BEGINNING OF A WONDERFUL CAREER FOR THEM. SINCE THEY ARE NON-VIOLENT, MAYBE THEY CAN SHOW THEIR ABILITIES AND GET SOME GOOD NOTES ON THEIR FILE THAT MIGHT HELP AT THE NEXT PAROLE HEARING.

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THE TIME (AND EFFORT) THEN DON'T DO THE CRIME. TEACH YOUR DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN THIS AND IT MIGHT COME TO THEIR RESCUE BEFORE THEY GET TOO DEEP INTO TROUBLE.

Great use of resources.

i would rather see this, than the immportation of an illegal immigrant work force.

i think ist a greatidea everyone wins! the community gets the help they need and the inmates get to do something they can be proud of

Build the worlds largest prison system on the leeve. 20 miles long. Let the inmates expand and repair it for the next 100 years until the city finally sinks into oblivion.

This is an excellent idea. Not only can they pay back to society, they can also get a sense of self worth. This can speed the process of healing their self esteem and give them a purpose when they are released from prison. Good Job!

this is a great idea, why not use convicts to help. i can think of no better way for them to repay a debt to society. a little incentive could also be considered on their behalf, like time off their sentence for good work performed in the publics interest

I believe that this is a great idea. Why not use all the man power you can get. There are people that are waiting for their lives to start back up again and they need help. Inmates can give the necessary manpower that is missing. The inmates are just sitting around right now and they can put their skills to use. I believe that all inmates should do some type of work so that they do not have time to sit around all day thinking about the trouble that they could cause. We have the inmates clean up the highways, why not let them clean up the debri left from the floods and hurricanes?

I think it is a fantastic idea to let the inmates help with rebuilding in the devastated areas.

I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the inmates to help out the community. Some of them are citizens of the coastal counties too, and deserve the right to help. Not all of them are bad people and didn't commit such hanious crimes. As said some of these men and women have trades or skills that really could be used right now and I think they should be given the chance to help. It would also help with cost of labor. Some of these people are being paid entirely too much for the jobs they are not doing that well. Jobs where they have no skill or experience. Why not pay less or nothing at all for a job that will be done better? I'm sure the government wouldn't let an inmate out to help if they didn't think that the individual had "earned" the right. They would let the inmates who had good character and exceptional behavior help. In my opinion SOME, not many, of the people from out of state could be trusted less than these inmates. I mean the inmates are working on good behavior to get out of prison and some of these workers are "storm chasers" just after the money.

The concept is neither old nor new; however, it is a good concept.
Many of the men and women incarcerated come from these working class communities. Second, the inmates are learning a skill that could eventially add to employment.
Third, inmates are no different than none inmates in the sense most want to help others.
Inmates feel better about themselves when they can see what they are doing is helping others.

Why not use the prisoners, they will pay for there room and board like the rest of us tax payers. It will probably make them feel better about themselfs in the long run.

Excellent, this is a win/win in our lost community. Many of the inmates are local and nonviolent offenders, as long as there is adequate supervision and an indepth selection process this is what we need. Sitting in jail only teaches them to be better criminals, work in the community teaches them to be better citizens. I sure know I would let them clean my destroyed home.

It's good to read there is a skilled, available workforce that can be utilized. It's a win-win situation since the prisoners add to their job experience and they're being of service. And, communities get rebuilt. It's a good way to utilize this segment of the population. I think its something to think about in other parts of the country where there are labor shortages and these non-violent criminals can be used.

We think this is a wonderful idea as it will not only help in the cleanup and rebuilding process, but also the morale of the inmates, who in their incarceration merely "looked" at the distruction of the hurricanes. Now, they can take an active and constructive part and this too should help them feel better about themselves, as they are learning valuable skills. If/when they are done with their time they will have this knowledge and hopefully be able to use it in finding work so to be constructive citizens of society, again with a better sense of self and a higher self-esteem.

I did hear one disturbing thing in an earlier article, about how a construction company went into an area and talked to several disaster relief centers looking for any help, and all he got was "No way, I ain't going to do that kind of work" from those taking welfare or other aid. Now I am not saying those that are elderly and obviously too old to do that kind of labour, or too young or ill or challenged in some way. But this guy and his company could get absolutely nobody in the areas he went to want to help. Hopefully this is not true for all areas (actually I know that it is not and there are those who lost it all, yet their neighbors only suffered minor damage and there they went, helping their neighbors who still had something left.

We hope and pray that the cleanup and rebuilding is efficient, timely and good quality so that when the storms hit again the rebuilding will stand firm on solid foundations. To all, assalamu alaikum (means: peace be upon you) God bless you all.

I think this is a very wise thing to do with inmates and at same time improve our city..

These are people just like you and me. They just got caught so don't run them down. They will do a better job than most to just show they can.

it's a good thing serve the community for your special crime the farm was once self suffenct make it so again these people need to be out working hard maybe da won't wanna go to da big house another time....if they know da will have to WORK!!!!

Now wait just a minute; Is the nation's unemployment at 0% at this time? Are there any jurisdictions paying welfare or unemployment benefits to anyone? Isn't it smarter to provide transportation and housing for unemployed, non-convicted, law-abiding citizens with jobs? Paying the correctional system with contracts seem pretty slimy to me, since they are government contracts going to another government agency? I'm for the money going to offset the high cost of detaining a convict towards their incarceration but this seems very questionable to me.

Will the inmates be paid a fair wage for this dangerous labor? Will the monies earned be held in a safe account for them to have access to upon release or for those staying in custody, will the monies be sent to support children and family members?

Absolutely tremendous program that should be expanded as part of a convict reform program requirement. It is a great community service, helping to train those that did a disservice.

This is a great idea! Let's take it one step further though and give this same opportunity to those who are still feasting off the taxpayers waiting for the rest of us to do something for them. Yes, I'm talking about those 250,000 displaced people who are still being taken care of in every way shape and form by taxpayers and private charities.

I mean c'mon they have to get with it sometime in their lives, maybe some good honest work will invigorate them to move on and stop waiting for the rest of us to rebuild their lives for them.

I think using inmates is a great idea so long as they are permitted to volunteer for the work. I'm certain most of them would be anxious for the opportunity to help. The idea that they would be paying for their upkeep in prisons is ludicrous however. It's not like they opted to be there regardless of their crimes. It's similar to a parent telling a child to choose a switch to administer their punishment. Non-violent offenders -and others - are just as likely to feel compassion for the Gulf area victims as anyone else and for many these are probably their homes and families affected. I just think regardless of their inmate status, we are not a slave society and they should receive compensation for their work. In every situation in this country where inmates are forced to labor for profits for the prisons, there has been massive abuse of the proceeds by prison officials and they should be protected from this situation. It's impossible to impart a sense of pride in work if there is no remuneration or reward for that effort. Otherwise, it's slavery and unacceptable.