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Freedom behind bars: transforming lives of inmates

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821- 1881) author of Crime and Punishment once said: “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” He was right. A society cannot be recognized as a civilized one unless it treats the prisoners with sympathy and affection. This treatment is not possible till the society recognizes and accepts their basic human rights and the fundamental rights.


Fair prison system, a crying need. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

A prisoner, be he a convict or under trial or detention, does not cease to be a human being. Even when lodged in jail, he continues to enjoy all his basic human rights and fundamental rights including the right to life guaranteed to him under the constitution. On being convicted of crime and deprived of their liberty in accordance with the procedure established by law, prisoners shall retain the residue of the constitutional rights.

Ideally, once an offender is admitted to prison, the emphasis should move away from punishment towards rehabilitation, instilling in him the willpower to lead a law-abiding and self-supporting life after the release.

Reforms

Towards achieving these objectives, the Sri Lankan Department of Prisons has introduced many new features to the prison system including new prison industries, religious and education curricula, recreation and leisure time activities. Prison industries such as tailoring, carpentry, masonry, motor mechanism, sheet metal work, manufacture of coir goods such as brooms, carpets and rugs, and bakery were introduced with the aim of offering vocational training to prisoners and making the prisons self-sufficient. Instead of the earlier occupations like metal breaking and husk beating, prisoners are now employed and trained in these industries with prospects for employment upon their release from prison.

Literacy and education classes were started in all major prisons with the assistance of the Department of Education. Libraries too have been introduced to all prisons for leisure time reading and reference.

Money’s value

Lack of religious knowledge and practice was noticed to be another characteristic among prisoners irrespective of the religion they followed. To inculcate the importance of religious practices and to give prisoners a basic knowledge of their religion, religious instructors were appointed to all prisons. Places of worship for all major religions were established in all prisons.

A major step taken for the rehabilitation of prisoners in the early post independent era was the establishment of the Open Prison at Pallekelle in 1950. Before the end of the decade three other open prisons were established in Anuradhapura, Kopai and Batticaloa. The emergence of the open prison marked the beginning of a new phase in the history of the prisons in Sri Lanka.

These open institutions are minimum security institutions characterized by the absence of material and physical precautions against escape such as security walls, locks, iron bars and armed guards. It is based on self-discipline and individual responsibility towards the group in which the inmates live.

In many ways, the latest government thinking on prison reforms has great potential. Based on the compelling correlation between employment and reduced reoffending, the reforms should recognise prison education as one of the key elements in enhancing offenders’ employability, and the cornerstone behind the much-heralded ‘rehabilitation revolution’.

Most studies, show single digit numbers regarding return rates of those who complete post-secondary education. That means these ex-prisoners are finding their place in society and paying taxes. Instead of being liabilities, they are now assets.

While involved in the education process, prisoners are the least difficult for prison officials to manage. It is much less difficult to guard a man who is doing his homework than it is prisoners engaged in other activities.

It is difficult to measure the importance of improved communication skills, which prisoners gain as a result of higher education. Instead of communicating with curses, threats, and violence they learn new and constructive ways to express themselves, ways that produce positive results both for themselves and society at large.

The sense of accomplishment that comes with obtaining a higher education displaces the sense of worthlessness many felt both before and after coming to prison.

The exposure to classes such as cross-cultural communications, interpersonal communications, psychology, philosophy, psychology of man, and sociology, forces prisoner students to think beyond themselves and creates within them the ability to empathize with others. This is an essential part of rehabilitation. The end result is a better citizen and neighbour for society in general.

Major issues

The research on prison justice and prison reform shows that there are three major problems which afflict our system and which need immediate attention.

That our jails are overcrowded is a well-known fact. A recent research revealed that our prisons are holding three times of their carrying capacity. The government has already begun to take some steps to overcome this problem. For example, a new prison complex is built in Pallekele which can accommodate 3,000 inmates and it will be the largest prison in the island.

This apart, life is more difficult for inmates and works more onerous for staff when prisoners are in over capacity.

It is also said that more than 50 percent of all prisons inmates are remand prisoners. Retired Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Nissanka Udalagama recently said that Sri Lanka’s Pre-Trial Detention system needs more concern.

He added, “A person held in remand custody suspected or accused of committing an offence has a right to expect trial within a reasonable time. Many of them are detained on the allegation of involvement of trivial offences punishable with a penalty far less than the time they have already been in custody. The basis of the Bail Act says remanding is the exception and giving bail is the norm. Yet again, the decision is at the sole discretion of the judge in to which no one can interfere. There are other ways, such as bonds and personal undertakings, to facilitate pre-trial release without ordering bail. Ordering excessive bail amounts to refusal of bail.”

There is yet another baneful effect of overcrowding. It does not permit segregation among convicts - those punished for serious offences and for minor. The result may be that hardened criminals spread their influence over others.

On the other hand, juvenile offenders kept in jails get mixed up with others and they are likely to get spoiled further. So, problem of overcrowding is required to be tackled in right earnest for a better future.

Delay in trial

It is apparent that delay in trial finds under-trial prisoners in jail for a longer period while awaiting the decision of the case. The release of these prisoners on bail where the trial gets protracted would hopefully take care to a great extent the hardship caused in this regard.

The mental agony, expense and strain which an under-trial prisoner has to undergo and which, coupled with undue delay, may result in impairing the capability or ability of the accused to defend himself. This problem has persuaded the many courts of the country in holding the right to speedy trial a manifestation of fair, just and reasonable procedure.

Speedy trial would encompass within its sweep all the stages including investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal, revision and retrial.

Prison vices

Talking about vices, there are many types of vices prevalent inside our prisons. It is an open secret. In many of them, a mix of inmate ingenuity, complicit visitors and corrupt staff has kept the level of inmate drug abuse constant over the past decades despite concerted efforts to reduce it.

A recent boom in cell-phone smuggling has complicated matters, with inmates sometimes using phones to arrange drug deliveries and other major crimes. There must be a more rational way to deal with prison vices rather than awarding hard punishment to them. In the situation in which they are placed, a sympathetic approach is also required.

Fair system

A fair prison system is a crying need of our time in the backdrop of great increase in the numbers of prisoners and that too of various types and from different strata of society. Efforts should be made to improve the system by introducing new techniques of management and by educating the prison staff with our constitutional obligations towards prisoners.

Rest would follow automatically with ease.

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