German prison or Disneyland?

On Sunday’s 60 Minutes, an inmate convicted of murder described the German prison system as a “fairy tale.”

After 15 years in prison, Bernd Junge, who shot a woman in cold blood, enjoys weekend leave. Bill Whitaker met him in a picturesque lakeside town, where he ate ice cream sundaes with his relatives.

One viewer compared German prisons to another fantasy land:

Beyond weekend leave, inmates can take yoga classes, roam about freely, and cook their own meals on their cell block. Some cells look like studio apartments or college dorm rooms:

This viewer was ready to pack his bags:

Others wanted the U.S. to sign up for the German reforms:

Still other viewers were appalled by the concept of crime without punishment:

Then there was this skeptical reaction:

And one viewer added the German approach could be a key that America’s prisons shouldn’t throw away: