SHOULD PRISONS BE PUNISHMENT OR REHABILITATION CENTRES?

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The conviction and sentence of an accused person to a term of imprisonment or a fine is the price one pays for fouling the law. As soon as one is removed from one’s home and kept in a state established institution to implement the sentence of a court, the state must take responsibility to ensure that the person’s whose liberty is restricted by the state is exposed to all the possibilities of coming out to become a productive person capable of contributing to the development of one’s society. Mr Keluntang Jarju is a classic example. The state needs to give him an award. Even though he had his liberty seized only to be acquitted and discharged by a higher court, instead of being bitter he developed his talents in prison only to further develop it to become an instructor in a training institution.
Some prison authorities have been linked before to such rehabilitation institutions in Austria. Such relationship should be developed in order to have people centred prisons where prisoners learn to become better persons rather than ostracise recidivists.