Effective and Humane Restoration of Prisoners With Special Reference to India
From Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice
Crime is a universal phenomenon. No society primitive or modern, developed or developing is free from its clutches. The tail-end of the criminal justice system is the prison. In the era of mass incarceration a question arises how can a prisoner be restored to live a successful life after incarceration?
Punishing the wrongdoers is a paramount duty of all civilized states. Punishment is considered as a means of reducing the incidence of criminal behaviour either by deterring potential wrongdoers or by incarcerating and restraining their ability to perpetrate further crimes. Retribution is largely motivated by the desire of the person or society wronged or injured for revenge.
The notion of reform has led prison systems to be called correctional institutions. With the evolution of prison reforms and prisoners’ rights across the globe, the punitive reaction approach paved the way to a scientific societal approach to treat and cure the prisoners. Restoration is not a soft option, as many prisoners find it extremely difficult to face up to the impact of their crimes. The corrective initiative philosophy or rationale was to reform or restoration. Restoration is the shift from retribution and vengeances shall focus on physical, behavioural, emotional, and restoration of dignity. Perseverance of restoration in prisons shall be a continuous process that would be a great investment to everyone.
Prison victimization has long been recognized as a significant problem across the globe. Prisoners become vulnerable and susceptible to victimization because of certain characteristics they possess. The rate of victimization is difficult to ascertain as the problem of victimization is complex, multi-faceted, and rapidly evolving. The changing dynamics of victimization present new challenges and demand a series of reforms in the prison environment.
Various forms of victimization in prison can be tackled by providing effective and humane treatment by prison staff and also access to and quality of restoration programmes. Treat prisoners like human beings, and they will act like human beings. Human rights organizations stress prisoners should be provided with a safe and humane environment and free from victimization.
The condition of the modern Indian prison system is far better than that in the past but still much remains to be done in the direction of prison reforms for the humane treatment of prisoners. It reflects that life in an Indian prison is often intolerable with little scope for a productive future. In spite of it the prisons across India endeavour to reform and reassimilate offenders in the social milieu by giving them appropriate correctional treatment.
The present administration of prisons in India is making an effort of restoring through education, industrial work, vocational training, and engaging in various activities. In addition, therapeutic methods, yoga, meditation, etc. are practiced to bring a prisoner into a more peaceful state of mind.
This paper takes stock of the current context and aims to bring greater clarity pertinent to the thematic area of concerns regarding effective and humane restoration of prisoners with special reference to India. Effective and humane restoration is possible only with the combined effort of prison administration and management, prisoners’ family members and the society. Ensuring an effective and humane prison environment that is in line with international and regional standards for the treatment of prisoners is key to the establishment of fair and effective restoration of prisoners. Perseverance is the only mantra for the restoration of prisoners.
Article details
Effective and Humane Restoration of Prisoners With Special Reference to India
K. S. Rekh Raj Jain
First Published April 1, 2020 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/2516606920904296
Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice