Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Jailhouse Rock

Punishment is passé; reformation is the key to eliminate crime… So believes Norway, and is trying to prove this philosophy by creating a people-friendly prison.

Those who’ve watched Shawshank Redemption or American History X would know exactly what a prison is like. Jails, as a concept, started in Jerusalem during the Old Testament times where crime doers were detained until punishment was announced. London was the first city to start modern prisons during the 19th century, the aim of which was to allow prisoners to pay penance for their crimes. The rule was to subject the prisoners to hard labour and follow a particular regimen with strict discipline, and this rule percolated down through generations across boundaries and cultures. Although the practice was followed to fish out crime and criminals, it was not many years ago that attempts were made to give prisons a complete conceptual makeover. Swami Vishalananda who conducts several rehabilitation and recreational activities in Delhi’s Tihar Jail mentioned, “Prisons should be institutions where those who have taken the wrong path are shown a new way to lead their lives. Ideally, it should not be a punishment centre, but a reformation centre where every person is detoxified of negative thought process.” Based on such a philosophy, Norway has come up with the world’s most humane prison.

Halden Fengsel, Norway’s newest prison, took ten years and $252 million for completion. A place meant for punishment, one would be shocked to know that it is spread over 75 acres of forest land in southeastern Norway and has facilities like jogging trails, flat screen televisions and refrigerators in every room, cooking, art and music classes for inmates and two-bedroom houses where family members visiting the inmates could lodge. The prison can host 252 offenders and the design is said to be a complete contrast to American prisons.


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