by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: June 30, 2010   Last Updated: July 08, 2010

Prison was designed to take away liberty and to punish. The choice of whether we want to use prisons to try to reform, educate and make useful citizens of the prisoners or merely want to let them know we don’t rate them very highly is up to us.  The reality of prisons is that they run a punitive regime, not only according to society’s rules but by the dominance of individuals within the prison. They are terrifying places.

Our attitude as a society ensures how prisons are run.  Without understanding the psychological effects of prison on individuals or considering whether this expensive punishment is the most appropriate, the public endorses the idea that prisons should punish.  Whether retribution is the most appropriate response to a wide variety of law breaking is worth considering.  

Prison would be an excellent place to deal with those individuals who have fallen through the educational system and who are, perhaps, not as able as many others academically.  It is an ideal place to reeducate those who have grown up in a culture of unemployment and welfare.  There are statistics which suggest that a high number of prison inmate have mental health problems. Offering these individuals a chance to fill in the gaps in their educational past and to encourage them to see society in a different light would be beneficial for them and us.  The converted are always the most willing to convert others.

Many prisoners leave prison terrified they will be sent back.  While that is one aim of prison it is worthless if the individual still has no means of earning a living and now has the added issue of a criminal record. Finding jobs is more difficult for those who have few skills. It was said that if you want to know about a society look in the prisons. How people are treated who are at the bottom of the social order says a great deal about our worth as a society.

Unfortunately, prison rarely reforms criminals.  The culture is against reform.  The work of reeducating the inmates is expensive and requires specialists and a great deal of patience. The emphasis is on punishment and in some prisons this is brutal.  The misery of the incarcerated is part of the price they have to pay for being caught. The time needed with each criminal is something society does not appreciate.  As a result we end up with more damaged individuals being released into our society who continue to drain the exchequer of money as they become recidivists. In the long run it would save us money and save the awful waste of humanity.

In Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta ‘The Mikado’ he states he likes the punishment to fit the crime. This is an interesting and possibly enlightened philosophy.

Learn more about this author, Rosemary Redfern.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.