Cry for Prison Reform

Alex

I love USA, even though I've never set foot outside of Europe. But if There's one thing I'd fix, it's the prison system.

US has The largest prison population In the world. It also holds record of children doing life, just like Free started as over ten years ago.

Inmate population is one thing, but the prisons themselves are hellholes, that really serve no-one. They're based on punishment more than rehabilitation. Most People who commit crimes already have multiple problem with metal health and the humiliations In prison only adds to them.

In a nutshell, the problem could be described like this: punishment only breaks down the good People and makes bad People worse. Especially, when persons who made a mistake are shoved In with malicious narcissists.

Don't get me wrong! I'm not trying to be some holier-than-thou European coming to fix America. We In Finland have the worst prisons in Scandinavia, though we recently opened supposedly the most humane women's prison In the world. I have no information how it works in reality, but it's a step In the right direction. Now the success of it depends only on staff and inmates

I really hope to be part of prison reform In the future. It's a step towards better, more humane world

 

The new Finnish women's prison has an ambition of being the most humane prison in the world 

Free:

America's systems are unfair and prison is a hard place to grow up. I have been locked up since the age of 14. I had to go from facility to facility, year after year, and learn how to survive in situations most wouldn't as adults.

I have seen much abuse and negligence and it can be horrible. But in the end I have changed and can say I am a better person. I never will come back to prison once released. But what i worry about is future children who make mistakes like I did.

If America doesn't change for the prisons, shouldn't it for our children??