SHOULD PRISONS PUNISH OR REFORM?

The confinement ... of any man in the sloth and darkness of a prison is a loss to the nation, and no gain to the creditor. For, of the multitudes who are pining in those cells of misery, a very small part is suspected of any fraudulent act by which they retain what belongs to others. The rest are imprisoned by the wantonness of pride, the malignity of revenge, or the acrimony of disappointed expectation”. This quotation from Dr.Samuel Johnson specifically refers to debtors, but also could be applied to those unfortunate souls languishing in Indian jails.



The Indian penal system still retains the colonial structures. The purpose of incarceration seems to be  punitive and not reformative. Human rights of prisoners are violated with impunity. The conditions of women prisoners and juveniles are most pathetic As a result even first time offenders and petty thieves become hardened criminals after a brief sojourn in the jail. The system promotes recidivism on a large scale.



Overcrowding

The single most important reason for the deplorable conditions prevailing in the prisons is overcrowding. Although the conviction rate in India is low, the absolute number of cases is so large that every prison receives new inmates everyday. Ideally, prison infrastructure should expand in tandem with the convictions. Unfortunately, our system works in parts, not as a whole entity which would provide for a holistic approach. The court which sentences does not bother whether the jails have the facilities to accommodate new occupants. For every sentencing, the courts should be enabled to provide a corresponding budgetary allocation to house the convict.



Most of the jails house prisoners far in excess of their capacity by about 50 to 150 %. The majority consists of undertrials. Adverse circumstantial evidence causes many innocent people to land in jails. The majority of these non -convicted inmates have no resources to hire competent lawyers.  Those who are guilty of minor and non violent crimes are housed along with hardened criminals. The jail staff is often at the mercy of the criminal mafia which has political connections.



Decongestion

There is an urgent need to decongest the jails. Efforts should be taken to speed up the cases of undertrials and reduce the sentences for those guilty of minor crimes. The judges go by the statute in awarding punishments. The CPC may be reviewed and amended so that the sentencing norms are commensurate with the crime committed and are not so harsh and vindictive.



Video-conferencing

Owing to acute shortage of manpower, the undertrials are not being produced before the courts. Connecting courts and jails through video-conferencing was expected to speed up trials. However, the experience of states where videoconferencing has been implemented does not inspire confidence. It is mainly used to remand prisoners. No opportunity is being provided for prisoners to express their views and try for bail. Lawyers are not present in the videoconferences. So the system needs fine-tuning.



Plea bargaining

Although plea bargaining is legally permissible, it has not been encouraged or popularized. Under this novel concept, the person accused of certain crimes pleads guilty and pleads for a reduced term. Besides speeding up the trial, plea bargaining will help to reduce overcrowding in prisons. It appears that the lawyers are afraid of losing income if cases are settled expeditiously. These fears are unfounded. On the contrary, speeding up of the trials will increase the turnover of cases and make up for any notional loss of income.



Arrest norms

It appears that nearly 40 -50 % of the arrests made by the police are on flimsy grounds and contribute to the overcrowding in jails. Police officers need to be more circumspect and use their judgment in making arrests. Except for hardened criminals, most people will co-operate with the investigations. There is no need to lock up very suspect. The Supreme Court has fortunately issued guidelines in this regard which need to be strictly enforced.



Community work

In the US and Europe persons accused of minor crimes are asked to do community work instead being lodged in jails. Such activities include working in hospitals, schools, etc. Besides correcting and reforming the offender, the society also benefits from the social work rendered by the offenders. This will help reduce the prisoner population in jails to a considerable extent.



Constitutional jurisdiction

The constitution has placed prisons in the state list. The framers of our constitution would not have anticipated that prisons would turn out to be dehumanizing and criminalizing dens of injustice.. The states have not heeded the Centre’s frequent pleas to initiate reforms in  the prison system. The model bill circulated by the National Human Rights Commission for reforming the system has largely been ignored by most of the states. So the time has come to have a re-look on the constitutional arrangement. An agency modelled on the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the USA could help to professionalize prison service.



There is a need to have more open prisons especially for housing persons found guilty of minor crimes. Separate jails should be set up for housing undertrials. Money should be set apart in the budget for this purpose. Education of prisoners has to be accorded priority. A humane approach will ensure that the prisoners will lead crime- free and responsible lives after their release. At present, the stigma of imprisonment deprives every released prisoner his right to a dignified existence. The rehabilitation of those come out after serving their sentences should receive the attention of the authorities.





The media, print and electronic, have the responsibility to create awareness about the appalling conditions prevailing in our prisons and campaign for promoting a humane and responsible penal system. It is sad to note that there is more public awareness about the rights of animals confined in the zoos than about the rights of prisoners.



It cannot be denied that changes in the prison system have to go in tandem with the police and judicial reforms.



There is incessant talk about closing the cases of undertrials, but very little action on the ground. Prisons constitute an important part of the criminal justice system. We cannot just lock away people and forget about their existence.  Unless the criminal justice system as a whole is made more transparent, just and humane, we may have to live with increasing violence and insecurity of life and property.