With the prison population in America being one of the highest in the world, prison systems will need a better way to take care of the growing population of inmates. One way in the future may be by using Experiencable Program Units.
When a person is placed in prison in the future, they won't be placed in cells. They'll be placed in EPU chambers on life support. For no more than $20 a day, a prisoner could be in a chamber experiencing prison life or get a taste of freedom via EPU programs.
Let's say a person is sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for two homicides he committed. He will be placed in the EPU chamber and when he is connected to the computer via EPU leads, he will experience prison life. He will also be put on life support so he doesn't die. With so many people wanting prisoners treated humanely, EPUs would be what they should like. No one gets hurt and if there are attacks, they will be virtual ones.
For the first year of so, the inmate will be experiencing prison life in real time. He will think he is eating, exercising, working in the laundry or shop, and sleeping. Even the dreams will be supplied via EPU programs. If he is attacked, the attackers could either be programmed or real inmates that are also experiencing the prison program.
If he gets stabbed, he will think he is injured and will be brought to the hospital. He will experience a "miraculous" recovery. He may be surprised at how the staff treats him and maybe for his pleasure, if he is considered by the prison a good inmate, he could get a visit from a beautiful woman who will give him sexual pleasure. It all depends on if the prison officials think they can trust him, even though the person will just be part of the program.
If the inmate is considered a low risk, he may be able to work on the outside via EPU Internet. Since the EPU Internet will allow people to experience work, the inmate will be able to work via the EPU Internet in such places as factories, mines, mechanics shops, offices, almost anywhere in which robots could do the work humans do and in places that don't require physical interactions.
How the inmate acts in the programmed world he experiences will determine if his sentenced can be shortened or needs to be lengthened. If he attacks someone, he will not be allowed to continue where the attack took place. Also, he will experience his sentence at twice real time. That means the 40 years will become 80 years of experiences.
He could be punished in other ways too. The food might not taste as good and some new inmates will treat him worst. It won't be real, so the prison officials will be able to have more latitude in how they treat inmates. If he acts better, he could experience prison at "half speed." Each real day will be experienced as if it were just one day. He will also be given better treatment.
There could be 10,000 inmates in a prison all warehoused in a place that looks like a real warehouse. Row upon row of EPU chambers will be the only evidence that the place is a prison. The muscles of the inmates will be stimulated to prevent them from atrophying. If there are any medical problems, the best medical care possible will be administered.
In the future, we could have a prison population of over 10 million housed in no more than 1,000 EPU prisons. Those that are released will either be released physically or virtually. Sex offenders that are still considered dangerous will remain in EPU programs for the rest of their lives for their own good and the good of society. So living as a free man may mean only experiencing freedom that will seem totally real.
