Here’s an interesting plot concept for you science fiction writers.

About 1% of America’s adult population is in prison, over two million convicts. And this is not counting juvenile offenders. What happens to these people in an end-of-days, fighting-in-the-streets, breakdown of law and order scenario? In any collapse of civil authority, it is likely that most prison guards (and most cops of all kinds) will abandon their jobs to protect their own families, (or to join in the orgy of looting. I’m no big fan of our gendarmerie, either.) The prison population will probably remain behind bars, but without supervision, its not likely the convicts will stay there for long. They’ll figure out how to engineer a breakout; after all, they’ve been thinking about nothing but that for years anyway.

A breakdown of civil order will no doubt soon result in roving gangs of violent ex-cons prowling through our cities and countryside, to join the other sundry armies of drug gangs, killer bikers, ghetto and barrio gang-bangers, skinhead militias, right-wing militias, survivalist wackos and other assorted armies of the night. They will not remain unarmed for long, America is awash in firearms, thanks to the NRA, and I suspect the screaming and gunfire will be continuous until the ammo runs out. Yo, Minutemen, how long do you think you’ll survive once the word gets out you’ve got an AR-15 or an AK-47? I suspect you will last an even shorter time than the gasoline or the canned goods.

Just a thought.