Worst-Feed Prisons

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The article “Is Toronto home to worst-fed inmates in North America” written by Tracy Tyler talks about the malnutrition in Toronto prisons and courthouses, and makes allegations that it is the worst fed prison in North America. This article not only presented many biased points of view but also at numerous points lacked sources for many of the affirmations being made and when sources were presented, implausible informants offered them. Furthermore, this article made many perplexing associations between objects such as the operation of a jail and a zoo, the diet of John Neal and his health problems, and the effects of food on his performance in court, which had no relevance to the arguments being presented. In this critique, I will attempt to…show more content…
This type of prejudice is exposed at numerous points during the article and could present a false image of the prison’s circumstances thus making many of the claims she exhibited false. An example of this would be when they mention the case of John Neal. This report is biased as John Neal, as well as his lawyer, could be using their comments in this article as a way to further John’s personal case. This example of bias might be summed up best by the repeated comments about how he cannot perform in court without better nutrition: “I am unable to focus on the proceedings and find it difficult to provide my lawyer with meaningful input.” (Tyler, 2010). His lawyer later backs up that comment by stating the same: “It is impossible for him to do so if all he can focus on is the that he is starving.” (Tyler, 2010). They could potentially be making the conditions in the prison look worse than they are in reality in order to obtain better food, privileges, or to use it as leverage in court. The lack of studies being done to prove that Neal’s case is not just a single occurrence and that malnutrition is a common problem occurring throughout the prison, leads one to assume that the Toronto Star is, in fact, using these comments to make their argument seem more likely. By not providing other…show more content…
therefore, they would be an example of unreliable source since they are not going to say anything damaging to the company or person in question. Often what they are saying is scripted and, therefore, may not be displaying the whole truth; also employers often use spokespeople as a method of damage control. An example of this in the article is the quote from Mark Pugash, the Toronto Police spokesperson, who says the following in rebuttal to the accusations being made about the malnutrition: “[…] the lunches represent a balance between meeting the needs of prisoners and making reasonable use of taxpayers’ money.” (Tyler, 2010). As a spokesperson, Mark would never openly admit to the public that they are underfeeding the inmates as it could open them up to many problems such as lawsuits, etc. His job is to make it look like the Toronto Police are doing their jobs effectively and are providing a healthy, budget respecting diet to the prisoners. Moreover, another unreliable source presented in the article is the unnamed registered dietitian. At no point during the document are her/his credentials presented, it is also not mentioned what part of the nutrition hotline they work for: “The Star also called the province’s nutrition hotline, part of Eat Right Ontario” (Tyler, 2010). Due to the lack of this information, one cannot be certain if they are qualified to be commenting on the subject and
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