Is the Solution Part of the PROBLEM?

A Brief Look Behind Bars

OVERCROWDING:  Prisons  in Britain have an acute overcrowding problem, and no wonder!  That land has the second highest per capita prison population in all of Western Europe, with 125 prisoners for every 100,000 of the population.  In Brazil Sao Paulo's largest prison is built to hold 500 inmates. Instead it houses 6,000. In Russia, cells that should hold 28 inmates are housing between 90 and 110. The problem is so severe that prisoners must sleep  in shifts. In an Asian country, 13 or 14 prisoners have been crowded into a 30-square-foot-cell. Meanwhile, in Western Australia, officials have coped with lack of space by using shipping containers to house prisoners. 

Violence:  The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that in German prisons brutal inmates kill and torture because of "the war of competing cliques for illegal business in alcohol and narcotics, sex, and usury." Ethnic tensions often fan the flames of prison violence.  "There are convicts from 72 nations, notes Der Spiegel. "Friction and conflicts leading to violence are unavoidable."  In one South American jail, the officials said that one the average, 12 prisoners were killed every month. Inmates said that the number was twice as high, reported the Financial Times of London. 

Sexual Abuse:  In the article "The Rape Crisis Behind Bars," The New York Times states that a conservative estimate is that in the United States, "more than 290,000 males are sexually assaulted behind bars every year."  The report continues:  "The catastrophic experience of sexual violence usually extends beyond a single incident, often becoming a daily assault." One organization  estimates that in U.S.Prisons, some 60,000 unwanted sexual acts take place every day.

Health and Hygiene:  The spread of sexually transmitted diseases  among the prison population is well documented. Tuberculosis among prisoners in Russia and some African countries attracts worldwide publicity, as does the neglect in the fields of medical treatment, hygiene, and nutrition in many prisons around the world. 

Next time: Is Real Reform POSSIBLE? 

From the jw.org publications