PRISON REFORMS

  ABSTRACT

Prison reforms is one of the most important topic among the policy makers. There are overcrowding in many prisons of our country which violates the rights of prisoners as well as not able to reform the conditions of prisons which is one of the major problem that Indian prisons are facing today.

Keywords

1. Prison reforms
2. Jail committee
3. Reformation
4. societ

      INTRODUCTION

Prison has been derived from the latin word ‘pigeon’. Prison are the bases where the trait accused and prisoners have been detained.

Prison reforms has always been the hot debated topic when the questions arise for the reformation of the prisoners. Many policies were made for the prison conditions reformation, but at the ground level the conditions of the prison and prisoners remain stagnant and gloomy. Prison is the place where the wrongdoers are kept for their sentencing part of their life so to prevent the society from their acts. It is an ancient phenomenon where the convicted people of the society were kept by the rulers to protect the society against their acts and omissions, which is detrimental in nature.

AMERICA PRISON SYSTEM

It was an era of barbarism and deterrent punishment for prisoners, with the passage of time awareness arose among American society to protest such type of brutal punishment. In era 1682 PENN’S CHARTER have been passed. The aim of this charter was to abolish such brutal method of punishment to inmates and secondly to reform prison administration. CHARTER has some specification:

1. Bail should be introduced to release prisoners from jail.
2. Compensation should be given twice of injury.
3. Arrangement of fooding and lodging.
4. Pillory as the punishment should be abolished.

QUAKER’S movement taken place in the year 1775. In this movement people raise their voices to abolish such brutal method of punishment and to convert capital punishment into solitary confinement.

According to reforms in prison administration there were two types of prisoners:

1. CORRIGIBLE PRISONERS: They were put to work in shops during daytime.
2. INCORRIGIBLE PRISONERS:  They were subjected to solitary confinement without any labor.

But the complete isolation has opposite effect in which prisoners died. Those who returned after solitary confinement become mad or irresponsible.

AUBURN PRISON SYSTEM

It was introduced in 1818 to 1819 in New York. Under this system prisoners were separated on the basis of gravity of offences. Initially the hardcore criminals had been kept separately into cells. Thus, prisoners were not allowed to meet their relatives and friends but under this system it showed the severity of solitary confinement. It has destructing effects on physical and mental health of inmates and most of them suffered mental disorder. Impact of this was huge prisoners were released.

ELMIRA REFORMATIVE: 

The houses were established in New York in 1876 for prisoners it provided special provisions for education and productive work, indeterminate sentences such as parole and probation. The inmates were categorised into 2 categories: Corrigible and incorrigible for the purpose of treatment in prison.

UK ( BRITISH PRISON SYSTEM )

Till the end of 18^th century America’s brutal prison system was applied in Britain was cruel and inhumane.

JOHN HARWARD remarked in his book STATE OF PRISONS that he has tried to explain the awful situation of prison system. According to him, prisoners were dumped and work in the places of filth and corruption, sex activities and all sort of vices.

BECCARIA  was the 1^st eminent criminologist who raised the voice against the continuance of harsh and painful treatment to convicted prisoners. To mitigate the harsher punishment the prisoners were engaged in hard manual labour during day hours.

1^st act of 1778 passed by the British parliament and it is also said to be marked as the beginning of prison reforms. The act provided elaborate provisions relating to the prison reforms. The system made some arrangements to the inmates.

1. Put to work during day time, kept in solitary confinement cells during night.
2. Chances were given of rehabilitation in community after release.
3. By 1883 the inmates were allowed to meet their friends more frequently at fixed interval
4. Visitors were also permitted to roam around prisoners and hear complaint from prisoners.
5. In 1894, Blackstone committee recommended the abolition of unproductive labour in prison and emphasis the need for work in groups and improve classification of prisoners. Committee also recommended separate reformation of juvenile offenders.

PRISON IN ANCIENT INDIA

A well organised system of prison is known to have existed in India from the earliest time. It is on record that Brahaspati laid great stress on imprisonment of convicts in closed prisons. The object of punishment during the Hindu and Mughal period in India was to deter offenders from repeating crime. The recognised modes of punishments were death sentence, hanging, and mutilation,etc.

During the Mughal period in India the condition of prison was awfully draconic. The prisoners were ill -treated, tortured and subjected to most inhumane treatment.

PRISON IN BRITISH INDIA

Jail inquiry committee 1836 gave 2 suggestions:

1. Abolition of practice of prisoners working on road.
2. Steps taken to eradicate corruption among the prison staff.

An official called the IG of prisons was appointed for the 1^st time in 1855 who was the chief administer of prison in British India. On the suggestion of lord Macaulay Jail Reform Committee was constituted by government and it gave 3 suggestions:

1. There should be a centrally established detained house with the capacity of near about a 1000 prisoner and the prisoners having imprisonment of more than 1 year.
2. There should be a prison inspector.
3. There should be separate arrangement for women.

JAIL COMMITTEE 1855

1. It recommended the post of IG of Jail.

2^ND JAIL INQUIRY COMMITTEE 1862

1. There should be a minimum space for prisoners.
2. Conditions of food and clothing must be improved.
3. There should be a regular medical check-up.

JAIL INQUIRY COMMITTEE 1877,1889,1892

The Prison Act 1894, has been passed and this act was enacted to bring uniformity in the prisons of India and it also empowered the then existing provinces, enact their own prison rules for the administration.

PAKWASA COMMITTEE CONSTITUTED IN 1949 this committee accepted utilizing prisoners for the road work supervision over them.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA invited Dr . WALTER RECKLESS to make recommendation on prison reforms in 1951. He was expert of prison reforms act in US. Committee was appointed to make an ALL INDIA JAIL MANUAL on recommendation of Walter Reckless.

The consequences of these efforts gave us following guidelines:

1. The correctional services should form an integral part of home department of each state and for centre Central Bereau Of Correctional Services.
2. Reformative methods of Probation and Parole should be used.
3. State care unit should be established
4. Solitary Confinement as a mode of punishment should be abolished.

There were 2 committees in India

1. J. MULLA COMMITTEE: Suggested that
2. The subject of prison system must be shifted from state to concurrent list.
3. There should be uniform rules or should have national policy on prison rules.
4. Youthful offender must be separated from habitual offender.
5. There should be no provision of jail of children below 18 years of age.
6. KRISHNA IYER COMMITTEE: Suggested that
7. The committee focussed on women dignity in prisons.
8. Separation of women from men so that there will be no exploitation of women offenders.
9. Women’s health should be considered, and make such policies which have the provisions of their upliftment.
10. There should be free legal aid provided to the poor offenders.

M.H HOSKET V. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA in this case it was held that free legal aid should be provided under Article 39A of the Indian Constitution to poor prisoners who can’t afford a lawyer to defend himself.

KIRAN BEDI who is known by another name Crane Bedi because of her work in the field of reforms in prison administration. She organised the jail panchayat so that prisoners make complaints about their stagnant situation in prisons. In the case of PREM SHANKAR V. DELHI the handcuffing is a prima facie inhumane treatment.

The reforms which are of utmost necessity in prisons they are:

• Overcrowding problem
• Prison discipline
• Prison health
• Criminality in prisons
• Problem of under trial prisoners

Conclusion

Despite of many committee recommendations prison reforms are not taking place. It is dubbed as a university for many criminals who have politically connected, they nourish themselves in those closed walls. Until the proper implementations of committee recommendations will not be there the purpose of putting the hardcore criminals or criminals of 1^st time will not be reformed and always put deterrent examples in the society.

This article is written by Tanishka Tiwari studying in 4th year from Shambhunath Institute of Law.