Want to treat them like human beings? Don't put them in the damn prison in the first place!

They're in prison because "justice" needs to be done for the crime they committed against fellow human beings. They're in there for _punishment_. Once you start giving them free meals, clothing, warmth, internet, tv - then what kind of punishment is this? Do you seriously want people who have robbed, killed, trafficked, drugged etc to live like that?

Is it good, ideal? No. Is it better than "an eye for an eye"? Probably.

As for rehabilitation, I will not even start to discuss it, prisons and rehabilitation have nothing to do with each other.

Prison exist for two things: a) Punishment b)Rehabilitation. If it existed solely because a) then all sentences would be permanent.

Personally I'd like to see end of prisons, at least for many minor offenses.

Actually, I'd say there's only one reason for the existence of prisons: confinement. As in, removing someone who could otherwise present a physical threat to others.

Prisons might be a deterrent, but locking up people who never caused physical harm to others is insane. Those should be alternate sentences.

Re point "a", it doesn't make that much sense. Why would they be permanent? It should be permanent for very serious offences (murder etc).

For minor offences I agree there shouldn't be a case of imprisonment. I'd send those people to do some community work and maybe learn something good from it.

Because if you don't want to rehabilitate them (i.e. acclimate them to world outside bars), what's the point of releasing them back?