Prison life is NOT a cool hip-hop video …

It is no secret that prisons in many countries are literally exploding with inmates. The US has one of the biggest prison populations on this planet (almost 2,5 million). But also Russia and China have huge numbers of people incarcerated (each over 1 million).

The numbers are huge, but the real important statistic is how many people per 100.000 citizens are locked up:

USA: 738 prisoners per 100,000
China: 701 prisoners per 100,000
Russia: 611 prisoners per 100,000
UK: 148 prisoners per 100,000
Italy: 104 prisoners per 100,000
Turkey: 91 prisoners per 100,000
Sweden: 82 prisoners per 100,000

Needless to say that the numbers of the US, China and Russia are staggeringly high and perverse. One could understand that politically depressed nations like Russia and China would be on top of this sad chart - but the US?!

While we are here, let’s start a nice prison gang to support each other later.

The main problem for such huge numbers of inmates is actually not prison, but freedom. Most of these people have a hard time getting reintegrated - and when societies imprison such huge numbers of people they also lack the funds and patience to do the necessary socialization process.

It is easier and cheaper to simply throw these “criminals” into prison again when they fail - and fail they will, because neither society nor the government is willing to invest into their “freedom”.

Build prisons, lobby for tougher laws, get loads of prisoners and loads of government money!

Security is big business these days - not just since 9/11. Prisons are money printing machines and a safe investment. Since many societies rather lock away the unwanted people instead of dealing with them prisons are booming.

So there is a huge lobby for the “security industry”, but hardly a well paid and oiled lobby for prisoners. Fighting for prisoners rights and better reintegration is a hot potato nobody likes to touch. Companies who run prisons have only an interest to make money - that is why so many things including prisons shouldn’t be privatized at all.

Plus nobody really cares what happens to minor and major criminals once they are “justly” sentenced for a few months or for life. Out of sight, out of mind.

Many countries have followed the US lead and sentence repeated offenders to harsh long time sentences or even life. The “three strikes rule” locks even minor offenders up for life or most of their young lifes. There is no interest to make them productive members of society - instead they are treated like inferior genetic material that has to be stored in a special place to keep society “healthy”.

Yeah, evil people deserve to be tortured and locked away forever - even when they are just minor offenders or mentally sick.

But torture and mistreatment of prisoners is not just happening in Iraq and secret CIA prisons. It is pretty normal in most US prisons - and obviously considered almost normal in Russia and China.

Any society has to ask itself of civilized it really is - and how it treats and “invests” in their weakest members: kids, the sick, the left behind, the hookers, the mentally retarded and those locked away.

It just shows which societies are pressuring it’s members to conformity via the law, police and the “justice” system - while others can live with offenders and differences.

The police and courts become social cleaning services - getting rid of unwanted people.

Watchamean “protect & serve”?! Serve whom?

If there is one huge difference between EU on one side  and the US, Russia and China it is this: lower prisoner rates, more social reintegration and less severe sentences for offenders. And don’t get me started on the death penalty …

It is no surprise that in many countries prisons have developed into parallel societies, where the inmates have created an alternative social system - since nobody really wants them on the outside anymore.

Sure - there will always be criminals and prisons. But such huge incarceration rates are indicators that there is something wrong with the host society - there is either political, economic or social injustice at work.

Keep Justicia smart and well funded - otherwise she might one day unjustified strike out at you …

And as much we all have to support the justice system - we also have to have an eye on injustice within our societies - because a human and fair system is something we all should aim for.

Even criminals of all ranks and deeds deserve a fair treatment, a chance to get back into society and a decent treatment while behind bars.

The criminal is the one who has misbehaved - societies should never misbehave.