Cleaning up prisons

Saturday, 16 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

THE prison system of Sri Lanka in many ways symbolises the problems faced by the country. Within it one can find the same problems of lack of good governance, accountability and transparency among others. Recently it was announced that the Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Ministry had received over 300 complaints on corruption and irregularities among senior prison officials.

This is only a tiny part of the problems that have long plagued the system with little attention given as to how to rectify them.

At the beginning of the year, 23 January to be precise, the Anuradhapura prison was the scene of pandemonium. A group of around 50 protesting prisoners were shot at by the prison authorities resulting in the death of one inmate and over 24 people being injured. Eight prison officers were also among this number. Violence in prisons is nothing new. Even a cursory glance at history shows many instances when inmates were threatened and in some instances killed, one such instance was during the Black July of 1983 when 53 Tamil prisoners were hacked to death, another in 2000 when inmates at the Bindunuwewa low security detention centre were killed. No one was held accountable for these crimes.

Perhaps the reason so few people care about what happens in the prisons is because of the attitude that “these are criminals, why should we care?” Yet this is precisely why we should care, because criminals are made not born and it was the society that we are all part of that shaped these people and led them to this fate. They must be cared for because they need a second chance, because without hope they cannot be any better than they are and because they have a right to live in peace as we all do.

In addition it is common knowledge that Sri Lanka’s judicial system is heavily overburdened. There are many loopholes within the law where the punishment given is disproportionate, the guilty go free because they have money and connections and sometimes the innocent is punished. There are also many instances when poor people are jailed because they cannot make bail, or could not hire lawyers to continue their cases or are simply incapable of dealing with the situation due to lack of awareness and money. In the meantime they are forced to languish in overcrowded and poorly resourced prisons and lead a life of suffering.

Corrupt prison officials do little to make their lot better. Bribes freely exchange hands, along with cell phones, drugs and other contraband. This is not to discount the many officers that do their duty but to highlight the need to clean up the system so that the good officers are given due credit. Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera has pledged to investigate all 300 complaints and bring all offenders to justice. It is hoped that these words are implemented and results presented to the public so that they gain some confidence of the prison system.

Prisoners are human beings too. There are many individuals and organisations that volunteer to help these people regain respect and hope in the lives. As humans everyone makes mistakes, which rarely defines one; what defines a person is how they can raise themselves and become better. It is the duty of society to help them in this endeavour.