Aren’t Prisoners Human Beings As Well?

Whenever this topic comes up people have very harsh and strong remarks or comments regarding it. The question here is that aren’t prisoners also human beings? Yes they are criminals and they have done something wrong for which they are behind bars and serving time. They are already being punished for the crimes that they have committed but it does not change the fact that they are human being and that they are very much alive. They deserve to at least be treated in a humane manner and they deserve to live under hygienic conditions. They should have some basic rights as well.

A few years ago when my mum worked for a welfare organization, I accompanied her on a trip to Sujawal inThatta where flood relief items were to be distributed among the people of the village who had lost everything they owned in the floods.

This distribution was to take place from inside the the Sujawal jail, so that the violent behavior of the villagers due to their desperation and hunger could be contained by the local authorities. When I arrived at the jail, at first I was excited and then shocked to see the terrible conditions of the jail that the prisoners had to live in.

The washrooms were despicable and it was as if they had not been cleaned in months, the floors were filthy, and they were given awful food which probably would get anybody sick. When asked, the local authorities all they said was they deserve whatever they are getting for the heinous crimes that they had committed.

A couple of prisoners we spoke to even said they were completely innocent and had been picked up by the police on mistaken identity. They were there for bailable offenses like loitering etc. but lacked the money to hire a lawyer to do even that for them so were locked up with hardened criminals like one man who proudly said he was there for killing his wife!

Not saying that they are innocent but aren’t they already being punished for what they did? It is not easy being away from family and loved ones locked up behind bars for several years. That is a very brutal form of punishment as well. Are you willing to raise your voice to help them attain their basic rights of hygienic conditions, edible food and humane treatment?