As to what’s reasonable, I find it amusing that parents might find themselves in the situation where they are being billed for not availing themselves of a service for one or more days. Billing might make more sense if the parents were also getting a tax refund for the days missed. I can understand that the government, and the schools, seek to maximise attendance, and incentives to avoid missed days are reasonable in that sense. But where I come from, sending bills which are legally optional (i.e., where there is no actual financial liability), is called fraud.

As to what’s criminal, a contradictory standard – or contradictory body of precedent, in the absence of a decreed or agreed standard – as to what constitutes obsence material seems to be a frail structure on which to base judicial decisions. IMHO the standard should be that recordings of non-consensual indecent assaults purveyed for other than official or academic purposes constitute obscene material, but that’s just my view.

As to what’s ethical, prisoners are clearly the weaker partner in an imbalanced power relationship, just as employees are in their relationship with employers. Just as this imbalanced relationship makes a sexual liaison unethical between employer and employee, the relationship between prisoner and corrections system puts the prisoner at risk in any such decision, even where coercion is not applied, because the prisoner’s ability to make a reasonable decision is under pressure simply because they are are prisoner.

#1. In the 50s, there was a lot of heated discussion Federal aid for education because it would eventually take decisions away from the local school districts & voters. Sounds like the nay sayers were The blackmail that comes with outside financial aid leads to dumb decisions like this one.

#2 The courts have ruled against such laws. That is the way it needs to remain. To make the issue go through the courts again is financial blackmail due to attorney’s fees. Dumb idea.

#3 Those who refuse to donate a body part will pay for that decision, dearly. That is just the reality of prison life. Like Sean said, also a very slippery slope, legally. Refer to #1 for an example.